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The Picton Gazette
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013
Computer crash causes boil water advisory Ameliasburgh system users affected by plant failure Chad ibbotson
Staff writer
A computer crash on Tuesday was behind a boil water advisory for all users on the Ameliasburgh drinking water system. The advisory was sent out immediately by the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit on Tuesday as the system lost pressure due to the failure of computer systems at the Ameliasburgh wastewater treatment plant. Engineering, development, and works commissioner Robert McAuley said the advisory was issued when the system lost pressure Tuesday. “The system actually went offline. We're not entirely sure yet of the nature, we're still diagnosing it, but the system in the plant corrupted and a hard drive crashed, literally collapsed,” he said. “Think of it as your laptop computer died and your laptop is running everything in your house. That's essentially what happened.” McAuley said the Ameliasburgh wastewater treatment plant does not have storage capacity so — in the case of a loss of pressure — whatever is in the intake bleeds into the system. “There's no ability to buffer by having made hours of water stored in a tank somewhere to allow us that time,” he said. “The minute the computer crashed the system lost pressure and that immediately triggers a precautionary boil water order.” McAuley said it took most of Tuesday to get a new computer and software in place, but the plant was back up and running by approximately 5 p.m. Tuesday evening. “We had a bulk water tanker standing by just in case there was a glitch, but I've heard of nothing since it went back up. It seems to be fine,” he said. He said part of the rea-
Phantom film at Baxter Building
boil first Residents who use the Ameliasburgh drinking water system were issued a boil water advisory early this week due to a system failure at the local wastewater plant. The advisory is expected to be lifted as early as today or Friday. (Chad Ibbotson/Gazette staff)
son for the duration of the repairs was software compatibility issues. “We had a computer that's Windows XP controlling the system and we're trying to load it with a computer with Windows 7 on it,” McAuley said. “There's compatibility issues and drivers that even predate XP for hardware that had to be loaded … but it was a computer crash and it's a computer operated system.” McAuley said the system will require two clean water samples before the boil water advisory is lifted. Samples were taken when the system went back online Tuesday and again on Wednesday. He said the municipality could hear back as early as today or Friday if the system is clear or if there are issues. “That's the problem, when the system loses pressure there's a risk of things being drawn into it,” he said. “None of that seems to have occurred.” McAuley said the municipality has ruled out a lightning strike as the cause of the computer
crash, but he said it appears to be the result of an internal electrical surge in the wastewater plant. Notices were hand delivered to homes and residents were reminded that during the repairs there was a possibility of water pressure fluctuations
and/or water discolouration. As long as the advisory is in place residents are asked to bring water to a rapid boil for at least a minute prior to using it for drinking, brushing teeth, making ice, or washing foods.
St. Andrew’s in Picton Welcomes
WELLINGTON’S GOLDEN VOICES CHOIR Directed by Laura Demers With Tom Dietzel, pianist
Sun September 8 at 10:30 31 King St., Picton
www.standrewspicton.com
Man arrested for vehicle theft
The Prince Edward OPP detachment picked up the chase of a vehicle reported to the Napanee OPP Tuesday and apprehended a theft suspect. A stolen motor vehicle was reported to the Napanee detachment some time Tuesday and at 7:19 p.m. the Prince Edward detachment received word the vehicle was moving through the county. An officer stopped the suspect vehicle on County Rd. 5 in Sophiasburgh.
Police believe the male driver was also involved in the theft of gasoline from a Belleville station and an investigation showed he was a prohibited driver. A 19-year-old Stone Mills man faces charges of possession of property obtained by crime, two counts of theft, and vehicular operation while disqualified. He was to attend a bail hearing in Belleville court yesterday. -Staff
The organizational committee of the Prince Edward County Gravity Fest are sorry to anounce that this event will not be held this year in Picton.
With the formation of a new international sanctioning body, the committee decided to suspend the race for a year.
Thank you for the continued support from all of our volunteers, fans, sponsors and neighbours. See you next year!!! www.pecgravityfest.com
PUBLIC NOTICE: IMPORTANT CHANGES TO GARBAGE COLLECTION SCHEDULE To: Residents of Wellington, Bloomfield, Wellington on the Lake & Athol: Effective September 1st, 2013, Waste Management is changing your weekly curbside garbage pick-up day from Wednesday to Thursday. To avoid disruption, please ensure that your tagged garbage bag/s and Green Bin are at the curb by 7am each and every Thursday. Residents in the affected areas will receive a letter by mail with a notice of the change.
The Bloomfield Centre For Creativity will be showing the 1925 silent adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux tonight at 7:30 p.m. The film was directed by Rupert Julian and starred Lon Chaney. Admission is free and refreshments including popcorn are available at a modest price.
Please note that collection days ARE NOT changing for residents in Hallowell, Sophiasburgh, Picton, North and South Marysburgh, Hillier or Ameliasburgh. For more information, please contact Waste Management at 1.800.267.7874 or visit
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www.pecounty.on.ca
-Staff
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