Needed: water tower repairs, leak-detection program

Champlain Township's water tower in L'Orignal is in need of $205,000 worth of repairs, no later than next year, according to an engineer's report.

"There is rust inside the water tower, and rust on the outside, which will become a problem if left untreated," explained chief administrative officer Jean Thériault. "[The repairs] have to be done this year or next year at the latest."

An inspection report prepared for the Ontario Clean Water Agency last November concluded that the tower's exterior surface must be repaired in order to preserve it for the next 15 to 25 years.

"The exterior coating is in poor condition," the report states. "It is showing heavy signs of degradation and, as a result, heavy coating thickness on multiple coat applications. The topcoat is starting to break down and delaminate to the following coat. We would recommend overcoating the existing paint system."

The report recommends overcoating all exterior surfaces, in addition to pressure-washing, power-tooling, feathering, applying penetrating sealer, epoxy and urethane coating.

The cost estimate is $205,000, including $135,000 for exterior surface repairs, $15,000 for internal repairs, $30,000 for safety upgrades, and $25,000 for consulting and inspection.

Thériault suggested these repairs would be included in next year's budget.

Leak-detection program needed

Champlain Township is considering the implementation of a leak-detection program in the near future, due to a considerable amount of water being lost in the network between Hawkesbury and the township.

Last month, the Town of Hawkesbury provided statistics on the amount purchased by Champlain - 517,287 cubic metres in 2011 - and subtracted the amount billed to residents (309,673) and used by the municipality and the fire department (60,911).

The significant difference, about 146,000 cubic metres, represents an approximate 28-per-cent loss, due to leakage.

Champlain Township does not have any cost estimates of what the leak-detection program would cost, or when it might be scheduled to begin. However, chief administrative officer Jean Thériault said some leaks have been repaired since the report.

"The leak detection program is something I am, at this time, just looking into," said Thériault. "It will be just for our water systems and depending on the price we get, council will have to decide if it is feasible to implement it.

"We were losing a lot of water, but we found and fixed some of the leaks and the loss has presently been reduced. At this time, it is hard to determine the amount of water we are losing, but if the leaks we fixed are the major ones we think they were, our loss should be close to the 17-per-cent acceptable level."