Statement of Thanks | Response to Water Main Break

Monday, March 13, 2023 

Friday, just over 24 hours after our main waterline to Port Alberni was damaged, the City of Port Alberni was able to restore water flow to City reservoirs. This was possible because of the support we received along the way and because everyone worked together to get it done.

We would like to thank the community for taking the steps we needed you to take to ensure we were conserving the limited water supply that we had in City reservoirs. We know that restricting water use would have been inconvenient for many, and we appreciate everyone doing their part when called upon. The combination of restricted usage of water and the timely water main repair work prevented the need for more impactful water conservation measures. We are grateful that residents, businesses, and local organizations went above and beyond when called on to act.

We greatly appreciate the patience and understanding of residents of the Franklin River Road area and others who needed to travel that route. In addition to some of you losing water, you also experienced road closures during this time.

We could not have restored water as quickly as we did without a team of hard-working staff and contractors. You spent your night working in difficult, cold conditions to get this job done quickly and efficiently. Thank you to the City of Port Alberni workers, both in the field and in offices, who made this possible. Thank you to Coastal Bridge & Construction and Bowerman/Knappett for helping our crew when they needed you. Thanks to BC Hydro, Addy Power, Ace Flagging, and the Mainroad Group for all your hard work and for keeping everyone safe on site.

We would like to thank the suppliers for sourcing out the components that we needed, and the local governments and First Nations who offered support and supplies along the way. Thank you to the City of Courtenay and the City of Nanaimo for supplying us with the parts we were missing, making this repair possible in a timely fashion.

We want to express our appreciation to the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District for standing up an Emergency Operations Centre and to ACRD staff for putting aside their regular duties to focus on making sure the community was kept informed and safe during the incident.

Thank you to the emergency personnel in the Alberni Valley who were ready if we needed them. To the Alberni Valley fire departments, we appreciate you coming up with a contingency plan that would enable provision of fire protection services while preserving potable water for non-firefighting needs. We are glad that plan did not need to be activated.

Finally, we also want to express thanks to non-City water users at Tseshaht, Hupačasath, and in Beaver Creek for reducing water consumption alongside City residents.

The Alberni Valley always pulls together when we need each other, and this was no exception. Thank you for your understanding, patience, and hard work.