Notice to the Residents of the Town of Bassano

Newell Regional Services Corporation and various contractors have been working together to complete all of the work required to bring potable water to Bassano. The contract to complete the booster pumps, in Rosemary, has been completed and since Friday, December 12, the transmission main to Bassano has begun to be flushed and chlorinated. NRSC had anticipated that water could be delivered to Bassano as early as mid-December.

However, flushing of the transmission main and disinfection has to occur before the main can be put into service. NRSC will not risk the health and safety of any residents with regards to safe drinking water. Flushing did begin but due to the holiday season, staff vacations and other support systems (Provincial Lab, equipment representatives, etc) not being readily available, we have decided that water will not be available until after the New Year. We will continue to operate the existing water treatment plant in Bassano until we are completely satisfied that water delivered from the Regional Water Treatment Plant is safe and meets all drinking water standards.

Once again, NRSC wishes to provide you with information concerning the disinfection process.

Since, October 2012, NRSC has been using a method of water disinfection with the addition of ammonia to chlorine to change the disinfection process to chloramines. Chloramines are proven to be very effective in the treatment of water that has to travel long distances from the treated source to the end user.

Chloramines have been approved for use by Health Canada, Alberta Health and Alberta Environment. NRSC meets and exceeds all Canadian Drinking Water Quality Standards. Those standards are rigorously monitored by our treatment plant operators, Alberta Health Services and Alberta Environment.

However, chloramines are required to be removed from water for those that are practicing home hemodialysis (kidney dialysis). Alberta Health Services monitors those home patients.

For those that have fish in home aquariums, chloramines should also be removed from the water. Chloramines can be removed using chemicals or a carbon filter before water is introduced into a fish tank or removed using special drops that are available at local pet stores.

If you require further information on chloramines please see our website at: www.nrsc.ca.

On the site are FAQ’s and Answers, directions to Health Canada and other water authorities in Canada and the United States.

NRSC welcomes all Town of Bassano residents and our system operators are keen to provide a Safe, Secure and Sustainable water System as well as dependable and excellent Service!