TWU hires consultants to help with H2O issue

One month after a water advisory was first issued at Trinity Western University, operations consultant Marilyn Crone said the problem of higher than normal levels of arsenic in the school’s water source is yet to be tackled.

In an email to Mars’ Hill, Crone remarked that TWU is currently looking to an outside consultant for help with the issue.

“We are receiving external consulting expertise to make sure that our intermediate and long-term options are optimal in terms of effectiveness in providing safe water with a better taste, and at the best price,” Crone noted.

Concerns were first raised on Jan. 24, when Crone released a water advisory to the entire campus, notifying the community on a higher than allowable amount of arsenic found in the school’s artesian wells. Tests had been conducted at TWU by the Fraser Health Authority (FHA), due to concerns over increased arsenic levels across the Fraser Valley region.

Five days later, reverse osmosis water filters were placed in 11 buildings on campus, supplied by City Water International. With arsenic levels between 0.003-0.005 milligrams per litre, the filtered water provided water well under the maximum allowable concentration of 0.010, according to FHA limits.

Crone noted to Mars’ Hill that the school will be purchasing additional filtration units.

“Fortunately, all of our reverse osmosis filtration units have proved to be efficacious,” Crone remarked.