Water

Nelson’s Water System

Nelson’s water is considered to be of excellent quality. The city  collects, sanitizes and distributes water to all Nelson neighbourhoods  except for the North Shore. The City reservoir and chlorinator are  located in Uphill, above the Burlington Northern Railway line. Nelson  complies with or exceeds provincial regulations on water quality.

Primary Water Source

The primary water source for Nelson is Five Mile Creek, located in  the West Arm Wilderness Park, beyond Svoboda town site in Upper  Fairview. The city also has secondary seasonal sources at Anderson Creek  in Fairview and Selous Creek at Ymir Road. Creek source intake  structures consist of a diversion dam, a screen assembly and  electro-mechanical valves.

Intake Structure

The Five Mile intake structure is the start of a 250–300 mm diameter  7,500-metre-long pipeline that transports the water to the Mountain  Station Reservoir. This supply main was installed in 1927.

Water Reservoirs

The City of Nelson has three water reservoirs: Mountain Station, the  main reservoir, with a capacity of 5 million Imperial gallons; Rosemont  reservoir, with a capacity of 300,000 Imperial gallons; and Fairview  reservoir, with a capacity of 440,000 Imperial gallons. There is also  approximately 350,000 Imperial gallons of active storage throughout the  system.

Mountain Station Reservoir Site

The Mountain Station reservoir site includes a separate storage tank  called a contact chamber. At this chamber, chlorine gas is introduced to  the overall water supply to deactivate giardia lamblia,  bacteria and any enviro-pathogens. At both Anderson Creek and Selous  Creek chlorine gas disinfectant is introduced into the water main. 

Water Infrastructure

The City maintains and replaces existing water infrastructure on an  on-going basis, with the primary focus on the replacement of existing  galvanized steel pipe and cast iron mains with a history of breaks. As  well, the City completes all emergency repairs and installation of new  services.

Water Use

Nelson uses an average 2,500,000 cubic metres of water a year, with  peak usage occurring between June and August.

Lake

Distribution System

The distribution system is a fan-shaped network of gravity mains, storage reservoirs, pressure reducing 10, hydrants (319) and system valves (1,600), serving four pressure zones. There are about 87 kilometres of underground piping throughout the utility ranging in size from 50 to 400 mm.

Distribution System