LOCAL NEWS: YEAR IN REVIEW ▼ A8 & A9
Times
Thursday, January 1, 2015 ▼ Volume 51 No. 1 ▼ www.clearwatertimes.com ▼ $1.35 Includes GST
THE
NORTH THOMPSON
TOP SCRIBES:
2014
CCNA BLUE RIBBON
Xmas story winners get prizes. See A10 inside.
First Place Best All Round Newspaper & Best Editorial Page Second Place Best Front Page All of Canada <1,250 circulation 2014 First Place General Excellence B.C. and Yukon <2,000 circulation 2014
Ice Hawks soar like eagles Clearwater Ice Hawks #16 Levi Walker and #4 Justin Sutherland battle for the puck with Summerland players during a Midgets hockey game at the Sportsplex on Sunday, Dec. 21. The Hawks tied the game but lost one on Saturday, Dec. 20 against South Okanagan. For more about the team, see page A12 inside. Photo by Keith McNeill
Leaks challenge Vavenby water users Robyn Rexin The Vavenby water system has had some challenges during the past few weeks. The first water leak occurred on Friday, Dec. 12. Ken Nystoruk, a water system operator for the TNRD, was working in the pump house when he noticed that the water level in the reservoir was very low. It had nearly emptied in just four hours. Nystoruk turned on both pumps but the system continued to lose water so he knew there was a serious problem. He sequentially isolated all the branches of the water main using the main line valves. With this method the TNRD narrowed
down the leak location to the main supply line between the tracks and the pump house. A water truck was sent to add water to the reservoir and the TNRD planned a way to best provide water to the community during this crisis. By then it was late in the evening and they were already setting up manpower and contractors for the next day. TNRD workers Ken Nystoruk, Dale Stachoski, Shawn Kratchmer, Darren Robinson, Arden Bolton, local Ti Hewlett, and Quality Contractors all came out Saturday morning, Dec. 13, to try to find the leak and plan a repair. A "leak detector" listening device was used. It's basically a microphone that
goes on the ground with an amplifier, and headphones. This device was used every two meters from the tracks to the pump house, listening for the sounds produced by a leak. Four to five "noisy spots" were identified, signalling possible leak locations. Two suspect locations were excavated. There was a "noisy spot" and a lot of water around the railway crossing right where CN had dug a ditch this summer and that area was a focus of the attention. Digging was started but nothing was discovered. Ralph Schuchardt discussed historical town leaks with the men. One of the previous leak sites correlated with a noisy
Highway 5 Little Fort, BC 250-677-4441
spot identified by Arden Bolton. That is where the leak was discovered on the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 13. The leak was located on private property and was unrelated to the publicly owned water infrastructure. The suspected cause of the leak was poor insulation that allowed the private line to freeze and break. The water then flowed once the pipe thawed in the recent warm weather. The TNRD isolated the leak on the property by turning off the curb stop. This break was not caused by any faulty parts of the Vavenby water system. It was a private property issue. Continued on page A3
Highway 5 Clearwater, BC 250-674-3148
Located on Highway 5