More UFW

UFW is--using Greater Vernon Water utility's acronym--Unaccounted For Water.


The School District shouldn't have to "defend" its flushing of waterlines to remove lead, as today's Morning Star story by Rolke implied.  And it's technically not unaccounted for water, as schools are on metered consumption.  But the schools deserve a cost break due to having to flush water daily.

First, the story:

"Vernon School District officials insist they aren't unnecessarily wasting water.

Water lines are being flushed at five schools daily because of lead in the system.

"They don't measure the water used," said Joe Rogers, superintendent.

At Kalamalka Secondary School, there are 11 plumbing fixtures and it takes 45 minutes to flush them.
"Some are turned on for one to two minutes," said Rogers.

Seventy-three minutes are needed for the 15 fixtures at W.L. Seaton Secondary, while there are 14 fixtures at BX, 11 at Cherryville and 18 at Mission Hill (schools).

"We have already changed out the fixtures at Crossroads in Lumby," said Rogers.

And it's expected additional water consumption will be reduced as the lead issue is addressed.

"We've ordered new parts and replacement will take place over two to three months," said Rogers.

Rogers admits that entire pipes may have to be replaced if lead levels are still high.  The source of lead in the tap water is likely from aging plumbing material."

                Morning Star                

Image from Mister Plumber website

Okay, Mr. Rogers it certainly makes sense for the school district to replace pipes and fittings and, in the meantime, flush lines to reduce the risk of lead being ingested by children.  All would agree that it is definitely necessary.

So what's the problem?

The problem is GVW bureaucrats of course.
It always is.

You'd think--with Mr. Rogers' dilemma--that GVW could place one of their numerous workers to do the rounds of the schools, record the meter reading on arrival, begin the flushing and then record the meter reading at the conclusion of the flushing.

Or the schools' custodians could record the start/finish water meter readings!
And the schools--and taxpayers--could get a discount / free on the total flushing volume.

"Can you just imagine the amount of lead in the treated wastewater system?", Kia would've asked, adding "plus reclaimed water irrigates the fruit and veggies we import."

Gives a whole new meaning to the word "reclaimed", doesn't it?
Plus a few graphics of interest.
Click to enlarge.

UFW = UnFathomable Water! PART ONE

Yup, who can understand the monumental--unfathomable--discrepancies in numbers reported by Greater Vernon Water?

Further to this blog's entry on June 22, 2016 entitled UFW?, let's have a look at all the unfathomable numbers that GVW has issued regarding Unaccounted For Water.

Click each to enlarge:

continued...as second blog entry PART TWO

(before Blogger platform dies entirely...)

UFW?

UFW stands for Unaccounted For Water on the Greater Vernon water system in the North Okanagan, and its volume is actually staggering.   

Some reports have it that UFW accounts for the same volume as metered domestic water usage, despite the graph below continuing to cloud the numbers...a practice not uncommon within the GVW bureaucracy.


Here's today's Letter to the Editor from D. Knol:

"On May 25, my husband and I parked in the cul-de-sac behind RONA as we were going for a bike ride.  Upon arrival, we noticed a city truck parked there.

"...I did not agree with the amount

 of water being wasted."  D.Knol

A hose was hooked up to the last fire hydrant, with water being pumped into the street and going down the drain.  Two hours later, we arrived back at our vehicle to see the same city truck, but now with two hoses hooked to the fire hydrant spewing out water.

The water was so deep that it was actually going over the curb and running down the walking path.  The drains could hardly handle the water going down them.  When I went to the back of our car, the water went over the top of my shoes.

Now I know they will say that they were flushing the lines, but really how long does it take to flush lines?

I am a little perturbed that we are told to conserve water, to let our lawns die and to think of the fire season, which I can agree with for the most part, then to see the thousands of gallons of water being wasted, that I have a problem with.

I contacted the city yards and later I talked to a gentleman about my concerns, and I was told they were flushing the lines.  I told him I did not agree with the amount of water being wasted, which he then told me that it was necessary because of the algae which grows in the lines.  I indicated that I thought there should be another way to handle this and found it disturbing to see that much water wasted when we are told not to water and conserve.  His response was we would not be happy if we got sick from algae in the lines and would rather see dead lawns.

I know we have chlorine in our water.  Would that not help some with the algae and is the water not constantly moving?  According to this gentleman, it is not.  I know there are dead-ends like behind RONA, but for the most part, I would think the water is constantly in motion.

He then told me it takes three years to flush all of the lines so it is a never-ending cycle.

Then I was then told this was basically our fault because we voted against the $70 million expansion.

I may be wrong, but it was more than two hours that the water was spewing out of that hydrant.  Is that necessary?  Personally, I think not."

                         D. Knol

Click on chart to enlarge:

(blog note:  I neglected to capture a snippet that continues the last sentence "The last category graphed below captures miscellaneous activities such as bulk water sales (truck filling station), water main flushing, water quality monitoriong stations throughout the distribution network, and firefighting."

But even the "Parks/Road medians" category has changed, with no new numbers available, with the recent reorganization of Parks in the North Okanagan.

"So...yet another quasi-useless number from GVW," states Kia.

But it was a good letter to the editor.
Wonder if there were backflow prevention devices on the flushing process...and a meter.