Water Quality

Rocky View Water Co-op has an excellent source of surface water at the Bearpsaw Reservoir on the Bow River. The water at this location is relatively soft, has quite low turbidity except during high-flow runoff periods and is generally easy to treat for potable use. A 225,000 cubic meter raw water reservoir located at the treatment plant site makes it possible to avoid drawing water from the River when the turbidity is high, facilitates settlement of sediment before the treatment process and provides redundancy protection in the event of pump failure at the River.

Water Treatment

A traditional treatment process was utilized by the co-op during its early years but this was upgraded to the Dissolved Air Floatation System in 2004 to facilitate compliance with evolving standards and an efficient expansion of treatment capacity. The treatment process involves clarification using the flocking agent ClearPak 180 and then filtration to reduce turbidity, which ranges seasonally between 50 NTU and more than 100 NTU, to an average of less than 15 NTU, significantly exceeding the mandated target of not more than 30 NTU. The clear palatable product is then rendered potable by the addition of chlorine. The Co-op does not fluoridate the water but there are natural fluorides present of less than 0.15 milligrams per liter.

Alberta Environment

Under the terms of its “License to Operate” issued by Alberta Environment, the Co-op carries out a comprehensive testing program to ensure a consistent adherence to high standards.

• Turbidity, chlorine residuals and pH are continuously monitored in the treatment process utilizing precision instruments electronically linked to a SCADA system with remote access capability.
• Turbidity and chlorine residual field tests are carried out at prescribed intervals each week to monitor the distribution system.
• Weekly samples from the water treatment plant, each field reservoir and random locations on the distribution system are taken to the Alberta Provincial Lab, which carries out bacteriological tests.
• Monthly samples from the Co-op’s raw and treated water reservoirs are submitted to an accredited lab to test for the presence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium.
• Semi-annually, in the summer and winter, samples of raw and treated water are sent to an accredited lab for chemical analysis. The web site is regularly updated with the most recent results for such tests.

Procedures are in place to ensure that any deficiencies detected under the testing protocol are immediately remedied.

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