Kengard Well Pump Station

Project Highlights

The Kengard Well draws groundwater from a deep aquifer beneath the City of Merritt.  Previously, the City relied on four wells for its potable water, all of which draw water from the same shallow aquifer.  The addition of the new deep well provides redundancy in the event that the shallow aquifer becomes unreliable or contaminated.

KWL completed the detailed design and construction management for the new production well, including obtaining Interior Health Authority approvals.

Bringing the well online included the construction of 130 m of new watermain (for chlorine contact time) and 200 m of sanitary sewer, installation of a 100-HP submersible pump, and construction of the well pump building.  The new building consists of a concrete foundation and wood frame structure, and includes a separate hypochlorite treatment room.  The well pump is controlled based on a water level signal from the Grimmett Reservoir, and the station is monitored by the City’s SCADA system.

The building includes space for future UV equipment and room to change the disinfection method from hypochlorite solution to on-site generation if required.  The site layout also allows for the construction of a second building for filtration equipment.

Future Capacity

As Kengard is the first of Merritt’s wells that draws from the deeper aquifer, a nearby observation well is being closely monitored to assess the reaction of the aquifer to the new production well.  Depending on the state of the aquifer and the City of Merritt’s needs, the current 50 L/s pumping capacity of the well can be increased through installation of a larger pump.  The new watermains have been sized for the potentially larger future capacity.