By Kevin Gilby

CRAIK — “Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”

While not at sea, Coleridge may as well have written about a small town near a dam site.

Accustomed to having to boil water before consumption, the town of Craik was dealt a further blow last Sunday.

About 12:30 p.m. Sunday, the water system in the community was shut down due to mechanical failure within the distribution plant itself.

A small buoyant float failed to signal the water treatment plant to stop pumping water to the cistern. An unfortunate result of the failure was the flooding of the water distribution plant’s basement, which damaged pump motors and contaminated the water within.

Town foreman Jo-Anne DuBeau, already deprived from sleep dealing with a recent power outage draining the cistern, was called into action again to deal with the dilemma.

Almost immediately, DuBeau and a small army of residents and town councillors began to pump out the surplus water out of the basement to assess the damage.  Municipal Utilities, based out of Regina, was called in assist in the operation.

The two electric pump motors, having been fully submerged in water, were sent to Regina that Sunday for drying and refurbishment. Meanwhile, the natural gas-powered backup motor fared only slightly better.

Local mechanic and previous water plant operator Shayne Stubbington was called in to check for any damage to the engine and prepare it for use, should the electric motors not return in time for operation.

“One hundred and ten thousand gallons of treated water gone to waste,” lamented town Mayor Rick Rogers as he watched a gasoline-powered pump drain the cistern.

While visibly upset about the situation, Rogers maintained a positive attitude about the responsive capabilities of the town, its employees and neighbours.

Amidst the flurry of activity, DuBeau sought out help from friends on social media. She invited anyone with water tanks and trailers to help out and was amazed to later see around five water tanks set up by residents and area farmers to help.

In addition to the water provided by outside assistance, the town brought in several water tanks of its own, two of which were being stored at McRae’s Farm Service.

To read more, please see the July 27th print edition of The Davidson Leader. To subscribe, email: davidsonleader@sasktel.net