Vol. 8, Issue 16
Free of Charge
Deep water
Thursday, August 12, 2021
Centre Stage
Huge volumes of drinking water being wasted in leaky pipes
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TROY SHANTZ THE JOURNAL
arnia’s leaky and broken pipes are pumping vast amounts of treated drinking water into the ground each and every year. In fact, about 16% of the water Sarnia buys from the Lambton Area Water Supply System is lost somewhere along the 502 kilometre-long distribution system, said city engineer David Jackson. “We have many water mains that are well past their intended lifespan.” About 40% of Sarnia’s $400-million water system is old - as in 50 to 90 years old - and about 110 kilometres of pipe are rated in very poor condition, according to the city’s asset management plan. Fifty years is the typical age at which water mains fail. All that crumbling infrastructure is expensive, with the cost of the lost water going directly onto the fixed portion of property owner water bills. Each year, Sarnia loses about $1 million in what’s called “non-revenue” water. Much of it is lost through leaky underground pipes, but some is also used in municipal buildings, hydrant testing and firefighter training. Sarnia doesn’t know exactly how much drinking water is lost in underground leaks and how much is municipal use because city-owned buildings don’t have water meters, something that is currently being addressed, Jackson said. Continued on 3
THIS DRONE IMAGE recorded by Ian Sanderson offers a different perspective, one that shows why Sarnia is a key Canadian transportation hub. From left, The Andrew S. Brandt Marina is popular with local and transient Great Lakes pleasure boaters. Massive lake and ocean-going freighters use Sarnia Harbour to ship goods to and from the world. And at right, a rail line carries locally grown corn, wheat and soybeans to the Cargill Sarnia grain elevators, which ship it to domestic and international markets. Not seen here are the city's rail yard or the Blue Water Bridge, Canada’s second busiest commercial crossing point to the U.S. and which reopened to American non-essential travellers this week. Image courtesy, Ian Sanderson
Holmes Foundry site cleanup has resumed – again
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TROY SHANTZ THE JOURNAL
bout 10,000 tonnes of rubble from two derelict buildings on the former Holmes Foundry site will be ground up and used to help level the 16-acre property, Point Edward’s CAO says. The long-delayed cleanup of the property was back on again this week and the gutted buildings should be down by the end of September, Jim Burns said.
“They’re hoping to have a big part of the work done by the end of December, so they’re going to get going pretty quick,” he said. “Basically when they’re done… it’s going to be a flat surface that can be maintained going forward.” After decades of neglect, thwarted development and environmental concerns, officials are optimistic the latest attempt to clean up the property will finally succeed. Last summer, a Ministry of Labour stop work order abrupt-
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former engine assembly plant building were originally to be trucked elsewhere, but the contractor developed a plan to do it onsite, Burns said. Continued on 3
DEAR READERS:
The Journal will not be publishing on Aug. 19. The next regular print newspaper will be Aug 26. For the latest local news, visit the website at www.thesarniajournal.car on Facebook.
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ly halted the last effort. But with help from an environmental consultant the village’s work plan has been approved by the province, said Mayor Bev Hand. “We look forward to seeing the property cleaned up and made safe for the community,” she said. Removing the overgrowth and levelling the two buildings at the northwest corner is expected to take six to eight weeks. A large section of asphalt once a parking lot will be left in place, Burns said. Concrete chunks from the
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