Majority of west Saint John switched over to east side water system

About half of west Saint John is now being serviced by the new Loch Lomond drinking water facility, Saint John Water said on Thursday.

The six neighbourhoods receiving the drinking water from the new facility are the lower west side, Milford, Randolph, Fundy Heights, Duck Cove and Sand Cove. 

The change comes after water levels have fallen a metre below sea level due to higher-than-expected demand, meaning seawater could begin to seep into the wells in the future.

Before the switch took place, the neighbourhoods were serviced by the South Bay Wellfield drinking water facility. At the site, three large wells collected the water before it was pumped to the South Bay treatment facility, where it was treated and sent through the distribution system to over 3,000 customers on the west side of the city.

But there have been widespread complaints about water quality and reports of pipe damage in people’s homes. A class-action lawsuit pertaining to these issues has also been making its way through the courts.

Saint John Water said additional parts of Lancaster have also been included in the transition.

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“Notices were mailed last week to all Saint John Water customers who are property owners in the neighbourhoods that have transitioned to the new drinking water source,” the utility said in a press release.

For the switch, the city used an existing pipe on the bottom of Reversing Falls Bridge to move the water and constructed a pumping station, which cost about $500,000.

According to the utility, over 17,000 customers are serviced with clean drinking water across Saint John.

-With files from Global’s Silas Brown