Hudson’s Hope water treatment plant sourcing Peace River water

HUDSON’S HOPE, B.C. — The water treatment plant in Hudson’s Hope is running with source water from Peace River, but the operators are facing difficulties.

During the ongoing trial period, the District of Hudson’s Hope said district operators face difficulties with 1-micron absolute filters, which get plugged within two or three days.

Currently, the plant passes water through pre-filters, two groups of cartridge filters in sequence — one group of five microns and a second group of one micron — and a chlorine injection.

The boil water advisory hasn’t been lifted yet due to the filters getting blocked. The plant needs to run efficiently with two groups of filters, as there is no UV system.

As part of phase two of the treatment plant running river source water, the UV system has been ordered and is expected to be installed at the end of April 2023.

The UV system will support surface water treatment when turbidity, the quality or state of being cloudy or opaque, is higher than usual. Higher turbidity is expected as the season changes into spring and during heavy rainfall. 

After months of boil water notices and do not consume orders due to constant issues with the town’s water treatment plant, the district announced its plan to return to river-sourced water, with McElhanney as its engineering consultant.

An open house held by the district outlined the plant and water sources plans, including the multi-phase plan of reverting to river water and the talks with BC Hydro.

For any questions or concerns, the District Office can be reached at 250-783-9901.