The City of Regina has lifted its voluntary water restriction as of Friday morning.
With the restriction lifted, residents and businesses can now resume normal water use.
The city implemented the restriction on Wednesday after the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant (BPWTP) experienced a temporary power outage on Tuesday night.
“The power outage essentially caused an issue with a valve that resulted in some flooding, and that was the cause of the shutdown of the plant,” said Carolyn Kalim, director of water, waste & environment with the City of Regina.
“The pumps weren’t operational. As the pumps dried out and became operational, we were able to begin producing water [again].”
Over the past two days, the city was tapping into its eight water wells, which can supply a third of the city’s water.
Kalim said the city saw its reservoirs deplete, but residents managed to reduce water usage by 10 per cent.
If water usage remained at normal levels, the city could have been forced to implement further water restrictions.
This outage marks the second time the city has implemented a voluntary water restriction. The first occurred in June for upgrades at the BPWTP.
As the plant continues upgrades, Kalim said there are still parts in the facility which need replacing.
“[So], we hope not to be in a position to implement more water restrictions. But of course, it is a very critical time [for us],” she said.
With restrictions lifted, the city will resume its normal operations of street sweeping and watering city parks with city water.
Comments