The Cranbrook Public Works department recently completed work on a major project at the Phillips Reservoir. Work started in the evening of September 30 and was finished by early morning on October 1.

Director of Public Works, Joe McGowan said, "The large project required several years to plan and assemble necessary specialty components and flowed from a need to replace an existing flow meter that measures the volume of water used by the city, and replacement of an aging mechanism that operates a large diameter valve on the trunk water line."

Common to both of the projects was a need to temporarily stop the flow of water in the large diameter trunk water line so the new components could be safely installed without risk of injury to workers. Recognizing the significant challenges involved with temporarily stopping the flow of water, City Council directed that staff expand the proposed project to provide all necessary fittings that would enable the city at some time in the future to complete all anticipated modifications at the site without the need to again stop the flow of water to residents.

The City of Cranbrook is served by a single feed line from the Phillips Reservoir, which serves as the city's primary water source.

The reservoir was upgraded to install a number of new valves in the feedline. Workers had to shut down all the valves in order to cut out the lines. The new valves will allow the city to shut off the line for repairs without interrupting service.

"We encountered a few minor glitches," McGowan added, "otherwise things went as scheduled." The city also added a new flow metre to measure the overall flow of water from the feed line into Cranbrook. The new machine replaces an old, inaccurate flow metre.

City Administrative Officer Will Pearce said, "The new electronic metre allows us to measure water flow 24/7. This way we can see changes in latency which could indicate a break in the line."

In addition, a new Y shaped fitting pipe was placed in order to make provisions for future twinning of the feedline. "Twinning the line is not in the budget right now," said Chief Administrative Officer Will Pearce, "But the Y pipe gives us that option for the future."

City councillor Angus Davis praised the work that McGowan and the workers have done. "This job was well planned and the guys did a tremendous job," Davis said. "Before this work was done and we had a shutoff you didn't know if it was going to work. Repair work couldn't be done with ease, now it can be done with ease and predictability. In a very broad sense, this gives the city a chance to ensure that the water delivery system operates at top quality at all times."