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City of Kimberley hosts annual tour of Mark Creek Dam and Public Works Day

Once a year, residents get the opportunity to see where our drinking water comes from
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Water flowing through the dam in Mark Creek (Corey Bullock/Kimberley Bulletin)

Once a year, The City of Kimberley hosts a walking tour of Mark Creek dam alongside Public Works Day. The informative day is a great opportunity for residents to not only see what City professionals do, but also get the opportunity to view and learn about the Dam that our drinking water runs through.

The only time that residents are able to see the dam is when the City hosts a tour, as the dam is located on Teck property. The tour is approximately two hours long, starting at the Public Works Yard, taking a bus up to the watershed and a short hike down to the dam. The tour also takes you to the Mark Creek Chlorination Station where residents can view and learn about the chlorination process.

Along with the tour of the dam, the City hosts Public Works Day, which is an open house and kid-friendly event. The City offers residents a free barbecue lunch, and the opportunity to learn all about what the City crews do and how they do it. From heavy equipment - loaders, boom truck, excavators and graders - to animal control, water supply, zamboni operation and more, there are all kinds of demonstrations and displays to learn from.

According to the City website, raw water for Kimberley is collected through two sources; the Mark Creek watershed as well as Matthew Creek watershed. Mark Creek supplies approximately 80 per cent of the City’s population, while Matthew Creek supplies approximately 20 per cent.

The raw water from Mark Creek is supplied through a double curvature arched dam, located 6 kilometres upstream of Kimberley. The dam holds 62 million US Gallons of water, and the water is piped through a 28 inch main line to the Mark Creek Tank at the Mark Creek Chlorination Station. At that station, the water is chlorinated using chlorine generation that produces 0.8 per cent sodium hypochlorite. This process involves mixing salt and electricity.

The level of chlorine residual, as well as inlet pressure, water flow, turbidity, water temperature and PH are all monitored through four different locations via online instrumentation, flowing first through the Mark Creek Chlorination Station.

At this time of year, Kimberley’s drinking water tends to increase in turbidity as the freshet picks up. This is why we are on a boil water notice. According to interior health, if the water turbidity reading is anything over five, it is a poor rating, resulting in the boil water notice. The City monitors turbidity and receives updates every 15 minutes. The level of turbidity could fluctuate from one to five or higher, in a matter of hours, depending on the weather.

When on a boil water notice, Interior Health recommends that all residents drink boiled water or a safe alternative until further notice. Water intended for drinking, brushing teeth, washing fruits and vegetables, making juice or ice, or brushing teeth should be boiled for one minute. Water should then be cooled and stored in a clean, covered container in the fridge. Residents may also choose to use bottled or distilled water, or water that has been filtered through a well-maintained treatment device.

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Water flows through five different channels in the Mark Creek dam (Corey Bullock/Kimberley Bulletin)
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With Public Works Day, City staff teach residents about their jobs and how the equiptment works (Corey Bullock/Kimberley Bulletin)
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Public Works Day gives children the opportunity to learn about the City’s drinking water, where it comes from, and how it is filtered (Corey Bullock/Kimberley Bulletin)


Corey Bullock

About the Author: Corey Bullock

Corey Bullock is a multimedia journalist and writer who grew up in Burlington, Ontario.
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