Midtown Water Supply Project reaches a milestone, providing resilient water supply for the century ahead
Summary
On Wednesday, July 24, following a ceremonial valve turning, the Midtown Water Supply Project reached a major milestone; the new primary water supply main is now in service and reliably delivering water to two-thirds of the city, notably including the hospital.
The Midtown Water Supply Project began in 2022 to replace the high-risk concrete watermain that served Nanaimo for the past 43 years. Replacement of this critical infrastructure became a top priority following a significant watermain rupture on April 3, 2020, where 22 million litres of water gushed out onto Bowen Road. The new pipe is flexible, earthquake resistant and made to last. It has a larger capacity than the old main and is ready to handle Nanaimo’s anticipated growth.
“They may run below ground and operate out of sight and out of mind, but the pipes and mains that supply water to our city are some of the most important infrastructure that the City has in place,” said Nanaimo mayor Leonard Krog. “Many thanks to the City crews, engineers and contractors that have dedicated themselves to reaching this tap-turning moment, and thanks to you as well, Nanaimo, for your patience during the ongoing construction. With a glass of pure water held high, a toast to Nanaimo’s water; some of the best and now most reliable in the world.”
While the new primary watermain will be in full use, the Midtown Water Supply Project continues, completing secondary supply main connections on Bowen Road. This includes using the old concrete watermain as a pipe sleeve for a new water supply main and adding a new dedicated watermain to the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
“The new watermain represents a significant advance in enhancing our water supply resilience,” said Bill Sims, Nanaimo’s general manager for engineering and public works. “We’ve seen the disruption aging infrastructure can cause, here in Nanaimo and most recently in Calgary. This new watermain replaces the vulnerable Bowen Road main that failed in April 2020, with a very robust pipeline. Nanaimo, we appreciate the community’s understanding and cooperation during construction disruption.”
The new watermain will carry a daily average of 25 million litres of water through to Nanaimo’s homes, businesses, recreational facilities and the hospital.
Link to Strategic Plan: Providing safe and reliable water to the city is a part of Council’s commitment to a Healthy Nanaimo and critical to the city’s livability and the well-being of all.
Key Points
- The City of Nanaimo’s Midtown Water Supply Project has reached it’s most important milestone; the new watermain is now in service, delivering 25 million litres of daily water to our community.
- The new watermain strengthens the water supply system’s resilience, improves the water quality and is higher capacity than the high-risk concrete main that it replaces. This extra capacity will meet the increasing water demands as Nanaimo grows.
- Although the new watermain is now in service, there is still work to be done with The Midtown Water Supply Project to finalize the secondary supply main connections on Bowen Road. This includes using the old concrete water main as a pipe sleeve for a new secondary water supply main and a dedicated water main to the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
Quick Facts
- The Midtown Water Supply Project built two large watermains to form the backbone of Nanaimo’s water supply for generations, and includes a dedicated additional water supply directly to NRGH
