Chilliwack Water Chlorination Chilliwack, British Columbia The Fraser Health Authority (FHA) has issued formal notice

e under Section 8 (3) of the Drinking Water Protection Act (DWPA) that as of today, a secondary disinfectant is required in Chilliwacks drinking water system. This condition has been added to Chilliwacks permit to operate a drinking water system and is effective immediately. The City of Chilliwack is a water supplier as defined under the DWPA. All water suppliers are issued an annual permit to operate by the Drinking Water Officer. Water suppliers are required to remain in compliance with conditions of permit at all times. The Citys drinking water is currently being chlorinated as a result of the water quality incident last week. Fraser Health now requires chlorination to continue on permanent basis, with a minimum target residual disinfection at the tap of 0.2 mg/L . Council is extremely disappointed to hear this news, but we have no option but to comply with the Fraser Health Authority mandate, says Mayor Sharon Gaetz. Thank you to the thousands of residents who made your voices heard and fought for Chilliwacks water. I know this news will initially be difficult for many to accept. Following a preliminary investigation, City of Chilliwack staff have identified several conditions that could have had potential to cause a positive E.coli test result; however it is not possible to determine the source of the E.coli bacteria with complete certainty. The City will now need to plan for the upgrade from our current standby chlorination to a permanent full time system. The full time system has a projected cost of $1.5 million so the City will research grant programs to potentially assist with this cost. The City will also require an estimated increase of 3% to the water user fees to pay for the ongoing costs of chlorinating the water. Council has faced challenges recently working with the FHA over such a sensitive issue as drinking water chlorination, says Gaetz. However, Council is hopeful that we can work cooperatively with the Fraser Health Authority to address the communitys concerns about Metros proposed incineration plans. For further information please visit the Citys website at www.chilliwack.com.