Erickson Water System

Public Meeting – June 21, 2023

The RDCK invited users on the Erickson Water System to attend a public meeting on June 21, 2023 to discuss system challenges, projects and rate settings.  See below for a copy of the slide show presentation and public feedback form.

• Slide show presentation
• Feedback form

System Description and Governance

The system was first developed in 1929 by the East Creston Irrigation District, and later became the Erickson Improvement District with the amalgamation of the Erickson Irrigation District. The system was converted to a Regional District service in 2003.

In 2005 a new water treatment plant was commissioned on Arrow Creek following a referendum in which water users considered multiple options for treatment. This plant now serves the Erickson community as well as the Town of Creston.

Governance changes were implemented starting in 2022, including the establishment of an overall Water Services Committee to represent all Regional District owned water systems and convert some Water Commissions of Management to a Water Services Community Advisory Committee.

The RDCK maintains a separate office for management of the Erickson water system. This office can be reached at (250) 428-2612.

Annual Drinking Water Information

• Erickson Water System 2024 Annual Drinking Water Information Brochure
• Erickson Water System 2024 Annual Potability Letter (Bacteriological/Chemistry)

Size and Number of Connections

The system services 655 active connections and is the largest of the water systems managed by the Regional Distrtict.

Location

The system is located in Erickson just outside the eastern border of Creston, crossing the boundary of RDCK Electoral Areas B and C.

Source

The Erickson Water System derives source water from Arrow Creek, which is classified as a Community Watershed. The creek has benefited for several years from an ongoing water quality monitoring program. Historic water quality data for Arrow Creek indicate that the water quality falls within acceptable levels identified in the Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines. Arrow Creek is susceptible to low flows during drought years, which could impact drinking water supply during high water demands.

Agriculture Water Demand Study

Completed in December, 2019, the priority of the Creston Valley Alternate Water Supply Feasibility Study

The purpose of this project is to review the feasibility of providing an alternative long-term water supply for agriculture in the Creston Valley. The intent is to support agriculture and to secure additional water supply for drought resilience. More information, including project maps and presentations can be found on the project website.

Presently, treated drinking water from Arrow Creek is used to irrigate agricultural crops in the Creston Valley. This project aims to explore alternative water sources and infrastructure required for crop irrigation – helping to sustain agriculture in the Creston Valley. By securing a separate water source for irrigation, the project also promotes drinking water conservation, preserving Arrow Creek’s treated water for domestic use and alleviating pressure on the sensitive Goat River watershed.

Funding Source

Funding for this project was received through the Agricultural Water Infrastructure Program, which is funded by the Government of BC through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

Project Outcomes

The project is a necessary first step in securing a sustainable source of water for agriculture in the Creston Valley, thereby decreasing the pressure on the Arrow Creek water supply and the Goat River watershed. The goals of the project are as follows:

• Define water supply areas that are currently at risk and may require a new water supply in the near future.
• Identify the interested parties, water purveyors, and First Nations governments with interests, and rights in each area of interest.
• Summarize current agricultural land uses and how agriculture in the study area could evolve in response to changes to precipitation and hydrological regimes, market forces, and food trends, based on available information. Establish and define future condition scenarios to form the basis of predictive water demand.
• Explore options to centralize water supply on the Kootenay River that would reduce pressure from over-allocated waterbodies and at-risk supply areas.
• Identify potential infrastructure requirements including intake, treatment, storage and water conveyance options for a proposed Kootenay River water supply system. The study will present and evaluate these infrastructure options and provide high-level cost estimates for each.
• Assess agricultural potential and the cost/benefit ratio if water supply and reliability in increased.

Treatment

The treatment process includes coarse screening, settling and fine screening for turbidity reduction in two Arrow Creek intake settling ponds, membrane filtration for physical removal of microbiological components, and ultraviolet light and chlorination disinfection of bacteria and viruses. A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) unit allows for remote plant monitoring and operation.

Water Quality Monitoring

• 2023 Annual Report of Monitoring (Erickson / Arrow Creek)

Storage

Two enclosed reservoirs constructed in 2017 provides storage for the Erickson system for fire fighting and additional water during peak demand periods.

Distribution System

Eleven (11) kilometres of mainline provides drinking water to residents of the Erickson community and the Town of Creston. Several kilometers of the pipeline, originally constructed in 1929, were replaced in a multi-phased project beginning in 2008 and completed in 2018. The distribution system was originally designed to operate as a flume and not as a pressurized system; the mainline replacement reduced system leakage by over 50%.  The Erickson distribution system has 32.6 km of PVC, asbestos cement and steel pipe.  A few pipes date back to 1929 and most pipes were installed in the 1960s and 1970s.

Fire-Fighting

Storage and pressure in the Erickson system meets standardized requirements for fire protection in some areas. For more information contact your subscribing insurance provider.

Significant Issues

The Arrow Creek Mainline project addressed a significant issue in the Erickson Water System. However, there still remains asbestos concrete and steel watermains in the distribution system that are at or nearing end-of-life which need to be replaced. The distribution system pipes can also be considered under-sized resulting in lower pressures for some customers during high water demands.

Plans for Future Upgrades

• Sections of asbestos concrete and steel watermains that are at or nearing end-of-life will be replaced over the next several years.
• Phased water meter implementation 

Asset Management Planning

An Asset Management Plan is complete and updated annually. The Asset Management Plan identifies required asset replacements over a 25 year and 100 year period and identifies annual contributions to water system reserves required to fund the replacements.

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