Reclaimed water spilling from pipe failure not a risk, City of Vernon says

VERNON – City crews are working to repair a pipe leaking reclaimed water along Commonage Road in Vernon this morning, Dec. 21.

Water from the Vernon Water Reclamation Centre is pumped through the pipe to the McKay Reservoir where it is stored during the winter months for the spray irrigation program, according to a media release from the city.

The pipe failed along Commonage Road near the Allen Brooks Nature Centre.

“The irrigation water does not contain any chlorine and poses no environmental concerns, nor does it affect services to the general public,” city spokesperson Tanya Laing Gahr says in the release.

Crews have fixed the broken pipe and are working backfill the hole they had to dig, she says. Traffic should be back to normal by the end of the day.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 2:47 p.m., Monday, Dec. 21, 2015 to add new information from the city on the repair.