Recent History – 1999
Dec. 8, 1999
Though it enjoys reliable water supply from Dawson Creek, the Village of Pouce Coupe has been advised by engineers to bring the water tower back in service.
Village manager Diana Chorney said the 1978 water reservoir, on top of the hill at the end of 57th Avenue, was taken out of commission by a previous council, probably about 10 years ago when an altitude valve broke, requiring the public works foreman to check on the water level every six hours, seven days a week.
Chorney said at the time it would have taken about $10,000 to $20,000 to replace the valve, but the village had no money.
Because the waterline from Dawson Creek provided enough pressure, the tower was taken out of the water system and no one thought much more of it.
However, engineers now say, had there been a major fire in Pouce Coupe that would have drawn a lot of water from fire hydrants, it would have caused the water pressure in the village to fall and continued pumping could have done significant damage to the water system.
In addition, should anything go wrong with the water supply from Dawson Creek in the future, the village can count on the 200,000 gallons of water in the reservoir for two to three days.
Chorney said the past village council has budgeted $100,000 for next year for the upgrades necessary to bring the tower back in service.
“It needs to be re-grouted and resealed,” she said, explaining the work can’t be done until next spring because some digging is involved.
The money will be coming from the Fair Share funds, which will contribute about $383,000 to Pouce Coupe next year, compared with the village annual tax base of $160,000.
Chorney said the situation has nothing to do with the tie-in of the new Louisiana-Pacific plant into the water system.