Brown water still flows from the taps in some Verner homes, and West Nipissing council continues to grapple with options. The next step is to have staff prepare a detailed report for the second council meeting in September.
The conversation is years long, beginning around 2018 when complaints of discoloured water started mounting at the municipal office. Verner’s water is drawn from the Veuve River, which has high levels of manganese – a mineral that discolours the water.
The discolouration is not always constant, it comes and goes, worse at times, clearer at others. The municipality said the water is clear when it’s sent out, and cautioned homeowners that it could be an issue with the house’s pipes or hot-water heaters. The manganese could collect and rear its ugly head from time to time when the taps turn on.
Many residents aren’t buying that suggestion, with some taking to social media noting they have changed plumbing or upgraded their tank and the problem persists.
See: Verner resident has had her fill of brown water
Another possibility is that the manganese is collecting at low points in the municipal lines, and the buildup eventually becomes too great and causes discolouration. Some homes are affected, others are not, even on the same street.
Whether it’s a homeowner issue or a municipal issue, in the end, “it’s the water’s fault,” stated Councillor Kris Rivard, and a solution must be found to change sources, he said. The river “has high levels of manganese, so the solution long term is to get away from that source water” and create “a drinking water protection plan for the Sturgeon River as well.”
One solution the municipality continues to consider is laying a waterline from Cache Bay – which feeds from the Sturgeon River – to Verner. The solution is costly, with the last estimate in the $10 million range. The water line would run from the Sturgeon Falls water plant along the CPR railway corridor.
See: Cache Bay waterline to Verner in the works
Next year, municipal staff will begin a “geotechnical investigation for the feeder main from Cache Bay to Verner,” Elizabeth Henning, the municipality’s Director of Infrastructure detailed in a report.
Henning also noted the municipality has “received a draft agreement with CPR for the municipality to install feeder main on CPR corridor, to eventually supply water from Sturgeon Falls. Currently in negotiations with the CPR regarding the costing and final agreement.”
In the meantime, the town is flushing the lines more often, especially on Cartier and Principal Streets – “known problematic locations,” Henning detailed. The flushing used to be a twice-a-year event, now it’s a monthly task.
There are 329 water users in Verner. Sixteen homes have formally complained to the town since 2018, Henning told council.
Councillor George Pharand cautioned that some affected residents have given up on complaining.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t complain,” he said, “and I think a lot of it is because they feel despair that nothing is being done, that nothing will happen, so why bother?”
Also, “If it’s consistently the same properties, would we consider installing a filtration system on those properties?” Pharand asked, “Because they are the ones that suffer the problem.”
Another option for council to consider.
Mayor Kathleen Rochon requested “a full information package, dating back to at least 2018” be compiled for council’s consideration. The package will include all previous council discussions on the topic, estimated costs, “and a larger report on different options” to clear the water.
The plan is to have that report to council for its September 17 meeting.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
