news-water tap

Supplied by Sault PUC…
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON (15 March 2017) – At last night’s Water Commission meeting, Commissioners were presented with the results of the most recent east end telephone survey. Customers will recall the PUC undertook this short survey to identify the pockets of homes in the east end that may still be experiencing water quality issues. The information gathered from this survey will help PUC develop its Annual Watermain Relining Program.
The survey ran from September 2016 to December 2016, and over that time PUC staff made two attempts to contact the almost 7,000 customers living in the city’s east end. Over the course of the survey, a total of 3,769 customers were successfully contacted and agreed to participate in the survey.
As expected, when asked if customers had ever experienced discoloured water in their home water supply, 59% of respondents indicated that they had. What was encouraging though was when customers were asked if they had experienced discoloured water in 2016, the number of people experiencing discoloured water dropped to 27%.
“We are pleased with the results from this survey,” says Giordan Zin, PUC Supervisor of Customer Engagement. “The survey’s results have given us a comprehensive snapshot of where water quality issues still exist. And while we can see that things are moving in a positive direction, it is evident there are areas to improve on.”
Work will now begin on incorporating the survey information into the PUC’s new Watermain Relining Program. This information combined with other criteria including; the size, depth, location and condition of the watermains will determine which streets in the east end will be relining candidates in 2018.
“The Watermain Relining Program is another tool we are using to address water quality concerns,” says PUC President Dominic Parrella. “Our new program will run concurrently with our traditional infrastructure renewal program – watermain replacement in partnership with City road reconstruction projects. Relining is a long-term solution that will provide incremental improvement with each section of watermain that is treated.”
Customers can review the complete East End Survey results on the PUC’s website. Additionally, details of the previous 2015, 2014 and 2012 Ipsos Reid Customer Satisfaction Surveys are also available on the PUC’s website at www.ssmpuc.com