Water Treatment

The Millbrook Drinking Water System consists of three (3) wells, a pumphouse with treatment and control facilities, chlorine contact pipe, water storage tank, booster pumping station and approximately 9.554 kilometers of distribution watermains with diameters of 150mm, 200mm and 250mm.

The raw water source for the Millbrook Drinking Water System consists of three (3) drilled wells (30m deep). These wells are non-GUDI wells, meaning the raw well water quality is not influenced by surface waters.

Water sis stored within the standpipe located at 988 County Road 10 (behind the Township Municipal Office) and provides fire fighting protection and maintains pressure in the distribution network. The site contains a bulk water loading station for truck filling, and a booster pumping station that provides water to a separate pressure zone in Millbrook (north of Brookside Street and west of County Road 10).

What is Water Hardness?

Hardness is determined by the number of dissolved minerals, specifically calcium and magnesium, in water. Millbrook’s drinking water source is from groundwater wells, where minerals from the soil and rocks are dissolved in the water. The average hardness of Millbrook drinking water is 220mg/L, which is considered high.

Hard water can cause spots on your dishes, and scale build-up in kettles and fixtures. Hard water can cause soap not to suds up as much and leave a scrum residue. You can reduce the hardness within your household by installing a water softener. If you do not have a water softener installed and want to reduce scale and spots, add white vinegar to your dishwasher. To remove the scale from a kettle, boil a mixture of white vinegar and water and dump this down the drain.

Watermains

Watermains are underground pipes that deliver a steady supply of fresh, clean drinking water to the community. There are service lines to each serviced property that include a curb stop.

What is a curb stop?

A curb stop is a valve that controls the water running into a home or building from the Township’s watermain. Curb stops are usually located outside in the front yard (lawn, driveway, sidewalk) of a property on the border of public and private property. Curb stops are the Township’s property and are important to be visible in case of emergency shut-offs. The township owns the service line from the watermain up to the curb stop, anything after the curb stop is the private property owner’s responsibility (excluding the Water meter).

What is a water meter?

A water meter measures the amount of water you use at your property in cubic meters. One cubic meter equals one thousand (1,000) litres. Your water meter is found inside your home typically in the basement. Township staff calculates your water and sewer bill by reading the radiofrequency device on the outside of your house.

If you have issues with your water meter contact the Public Works Department at 705-932-9323.

Water Meter Replacement Program

The Township has a program for the replacement of aging water meters. It is important to replace old meters to reduce the risk of failure and improve accuracy. If you have an old water meter, please get in touch with the Water and Wastewater Technician (705-932-9348) to have the meter replaced.