I have been asked by many people over the past couple of weeks what is happening with the Snowfluent system as they haven’t seen any evidence of snowmaking yet this year.  Although yesterday and today are perfect snow making conditions, the plant has yet to process this year.  Warm weather in December meant that the plant was not turned on.  In order to operate the Snowfluent system, the temperature needs to be -5 C and wind at least 4 km/hr.

On December 31, when the system was being started up, a broken pipe in one of the effluent lines prevented its operation.   The repairs to the pipe are expected to be made by the end of the day Tuesday.  Adjustments  were made to the plant today and I am hopeful that two towers will be operational tonight.  The weather forecast indicates that the unseasonably warm weather returns on Wednesday.

The levels of the lagoons are monitored daily as well as the daily flows from the Village to the lagoons.  The average flows in November were 220 m3, however alarmingly jumped to over 300 m3 in the latter part of December.  Sump pumps that are connected to the waste water system are contributing to this increase.  Please check to see where your sump pump dumps and ensure that it does not add to the lagoon levels.  Council is introducing a water conservation programme this week in the Review Mirror by providing advice on how to reduce the amount of clean water flowing to the waste water system.  Let’s work together to reduce the amount of unnecessary clean water being processed at the waste water plant by 10% this year.

Council met this afternoon to review the current situation.  Our Councillors bring a wealth of experience to the discussions and each of them is committed to asking the right questions to ensure they get all of the information they need to make decisions.  At the end of the meeting, Council is satisfied that monitoring the levels, flows and weather forecasts is sufficient at this point in time,.  Just as a reminder, should it be necessary to haul effluent, there is a solid contingency plan that can be in place with 24 hours notice.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact a Councillor of your choice or me.