Sharing the expertise

EPCOR Water Services is sharing its expertise in remotely managing water systems to help rural communities deliver safe, reliable drinking water. EPCOR recently completed a three-year pilot project to develop a model for providing centralized remote monitoring and support from EPCOR staff to several small Alberta communities.

The study, which was sponsored and partially funded by Alberta Environment, was initiated to tackle a challenge facing many communities: are there ways to deliver essential services such as water safely, reliably and cost effectively with limited resources?

Meeting these challenges is especially tough for smaller communities such as the Hamlet of Ashmont, Alberta—population 168—that lack the funds and skilled labour of larger municipalities.

But there’s hope for communities such as Ashmont, which is located in the County of St. Paul, and the Village of Vilna in nearby Smoky Lake. Both communities embraced remote monitoring technology—which is relatively new to Western Canada—as part of EPCOR’s Regional Management Pilot Project.
 

How it works

EPCOR provided initial treatment plant assessments and implemented upgrades at the Ashmont and Vilna treatment plants, with remote monitoring systems and other equipment designed to meet modern water quality standards. Then, for a three-month period, the plants were monitored around the clock.

EPCOR operators provided first response and notified local operators at the first sign of any trouble. Prior to the pilot project, local operators would have discovered any issues only during their once-a-weekday plant checks.