Other Water Information

OTHER WATER INFORMATION

Health Canada

Chlorination

  • Checks are done daily
  • Water is sent to Lab for evaluation weekly
  • Interior Health monitors via weekly lab results and monthly reports.

Peak Demand

6:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Irrigation Water

Chlorine is in irrigation water. When a water leak occurs, the Water Department can test for chlorine and that indicates it is a Peachland line rather than groundwater.

Irrigation systems are allowed 6 GPM. Any brand of check valve is suitable for use. Must be a dual valve. All irrigation water is metered effective 2008. All irrigation meters must have a backflow preventer installed.

SUPPLY

The District of Peachland has two watersheds. Trepanier Creek watershed is 25,990 ha. The Peachland Creek watershed is 14,150 ha. The options for developing new water supplies are limited and expensive. This is due to both the demographics and location of the distribution area.

The District of Peachland supplies 2,777 acres of land with water, of which 334 acres are parks.

Most of the water is currently supplied from upland storage reservoirs which rely on run-off from winter snow packs to fill each year. The District has some groundwater sources (2 wells), but these are limited and relatively expensive to run and serve a small portion of Ponderosa Drive.

Hard Water / Soft Water

Hard water is water that has high mineral content . Hard water is often indicated by a lack of suds formation when soap is agitated in water however, most detergents contain ingredients that counteract the effects of hard water on the surfactants. Wherever water hardness is a concern, water softening is commonly used to reduce hard water's adverse effects.

Water's hardness is determined by the concentration of multivalent cations in the water. Common cations found in hard water include Ca2+ and Mg2+. These ions enter a water supply by leaching from minerals within an aquifer. Common calcium-containing minerals are calcite and gypsum. A common magnesium mineral is dolomite (which also contains calcium). Calcium carbonate scales formed in water-heating systems are called limescale. Calcium and magnesium ions can sometimes be removed by water softeners.

Most detergents contain ingredients that counteract the effects of hard water on the surfactants. For this reason, water softening is often unnecessary. Where softening is practiced, it is often recommended to soften only the water sent to domestic hot water systems so as to prevent or delay inefficiencies and damage due to scale formation in water heaters.

Measurement

Hardness can be quantified by instrumental analysis.

The units are as follows:

  • Parts per million (ppm) is usually defined as 1 mg / L CaCO3
  • Grains per Gallon (gpg) is defined as 1 grain (64.8 mg) of calcium carbonate per U.S. gallon (3.79 litres), or 17.118 ppm. Hard/soft classification

Because it is the precise mixture of minerals dissolved in the water, together with the water's pH and temperature, that determines the behavior of the hardness, a single-number scale does not adequately describe hardness.

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