GREENSTONE — It looks like the time to fill your pool is now.
The municipality of Greenstone issued a notice to residents in the Geraldton and Longlac wards asking them to actively limit their water usage while their respective water towers undergo sand-blasting and painting.
Mayor James McPherson explained to Dougall Media why sand-blasting and painting means they’ll need to temporarily cutback on their usage.
“Over 10 years ago, we painted the inside of the water towers. Now – because we put it off for too long – we have to sandblast and then paint the outside. And, so that the towers don’t sweat while they’re trying to paint it, we have to basically empty the towers,” he said.
The Geraldton ward will see restricted usage from June 26 to July 11, then again from July 31 until August 14.
Meanwhile, the Longlac ward will need to conserve as much as possible from July 6 to August 16.
McPherson described how water will be distributed to both wards during these conservation periods.
“The Geraldton ward and Longlac ward are going to be provided water similar to Nakina and Beardmore where there will be a pump running all the time. Instead of going up into the elevated storage and then coming down as needed, it will be water on-demand – which means that we have to not have big swings,” he said.
He gave some examples of what could cause ‘big swings’ – including residents’ running sprinkler systems, the filling of hot tubs and swimming pools, and the use of pressure washers to clean driveways and vehicles.
Otherwise, McPherson indicated people’s day-to-day routines should not be impacted.
Dougall Media previously spoke with McPherson in December about the rehabilitation projects planned for each water tower.
Both then and now, McPherson emphasized the significant investment being made into the water towers.
“It’s $3 million to do the two of them. This isn’t cheap,” he said.
“It’s going to be financed (and) it’s going to come out of people’s water and wastewater usage for the next 25 years. Just like buying a house, we’re going to pay for it over time. It needs to be done, it’s overdue and so it’s great that it’s being done.”