|
a |
Water Distribution and Maintenance
The City of Woodstock is responsible for the distribution of water and maintenance of the water system within the city boundaries.
Drinking Water Quality Management Policy
The Woodstock Drinking Water Distribution System is owned by the County of Oxford and operated by the City of Woodstock's Engineering-Water Distribution & Maintenance Department. Both the Owner (County of Oxford) and the Operating Authority (City of Woodstock) are committed to the objectives outlined below.
The County of Oxford is committed to providing its customers with safe, potable drinking water in the interest of protecting public health. These outcomes will be achieved by:
- Providing drinking water that consistently meets or exceeds regulatory and customer requirements.
- Participating in appropriate research of Best Management Practices to enhance our understanding of drinking water quality issues and optimize performance.
- Promoting sound relationships with our customers, stakeholders, regulators and employees and integrating their needs and expectations into our planning.
- As a minimum, meeting the requirements of all applicable legistation and regulations.
The County of Oxford Public Works will implement and maintain a Drinking Water Quality Management System as outlined by the Ontario Ministry of Environment. All managers and employees involved in the supply of drinking water are responsible for understanding, implementing, maintaining and continually improving the Drinking Water Quality Management System.
For more information visit the County of Oxford site.
Water Distribution Department
The main source of the City’s water supply is the well field located just off Sweaburg Road, locally called “The Sweaburg Swamp”. It is located north of the Village of Sweaburg, south of Highway 401 and south-west of the City of Woodstock.
The County of Oxford has seven wells in the Sweaburg area and an additional three wells within the City itself.
Water is pumped out of the ground and flows into Woodstock from the well field by gravity and pressure through four pipelines. These pipelines move the water to the pumping plant located on the east side of Southside Park.
At the water plant, the water is chlorinated for purification and pumped under pressure of about 80 pounds per square inch into the City’s water distribution system.
The City of Woodstock’s Water Distribution Department is then responsible for the delivery of water to homes, businesses and industrial customers through a complex network of water mains, which if measured end to end, would be approximately 210 kilometers in length. Currently, the City services approximately 11,320 residential customers and 910 industrial and commercial customers.
As part of the maintenance process, there are 980 fire hydrants and 2,650 primary water valves and 910 backflow preventors that are required to be serviced on a yearly basis.
Sanitary Sewer Laterals
The City of Woodstock's policy regarding sewer lateral problems is that the owner is responsible for their lateral to the City's main sewer with the exception of the fact that, if it can be shown to the City that there are tree roots from a City Tree, then the City will pay $175.00 towards the cost of the work required to remove the root blockage.
The property owner is responsible for retaining a plumber or contractor to determine the extent of the problem.
The City must be notified and inspect the site during the removal of roots. Similarly, in the case of excavation of the lateral, the owner or contractor shall expose the lateral at the street line and contact the City immediately to confirm the cause of the problem. If the lateral is found to be collapsed or broken on the road allowance and an inspection by an authorized City Official is made, the City will then assume the total cost of the repair within the road allowance.
Please note that should the sewer be blocked because of improper use (such as rags, etc.), then it will still be the owner's responsibility to pay for the cost to clean the lateral and repair it.
We wish to make clear that just because a blockage is created on City property, it does not necessarily follow that the City will pay the cost to resolve the problem.
|
