The City of Fernie is conducting an assessment of the Fairy Creek water source and structural remediation work to the reservoir.
“We are currently doing some hydro metric monitoring and that will take a year,” said Mayor Nic Milligan.
“We’re monitoring both surface flows and flows in the distilling basin to understand the full amount of water that is available to use.”
According to city documents, there have been water quality issues in the community’s secondary source, the James White Park Wells.
Sample of the water have shown at times, selenium concentrations in the wells beyond the 10 micrograms per liter standard.
Because of this, the city can’t rely on the James White Park Wells for consistent potable water.
However, the city did say that Fernie’s drinking water quality regularly meets the approved provincial water quality guidelines.
The only time the city has had issues is when there is increased turbidity in the Fairy Creek source and they can’t switch to the James White Park Wells due to selenium.
Milligan said the assessment will help them know what’s needed for the community.
“The question of water availability is significant for all of our communities, so we just want to understand how sustainable it is as a water source and ensure we are managing that waste resource appropriately for our community.”
The assessment is expected to be done within a year.
