After receiving a flood of complaints from east end residents in regards to brown water flowing from their taps and swirling in their toilets and laundry machines, Ward One City Councillor Steve Butland made a special statement to Sault Ste.

After receiving a flood of complaints from east end residents in regards to brown water flowing from their taps and swirling in their toilets and laundry machines, Ward One City Councillor Steve Butland made a special statement to Sault Ste. Marie City Council before the start of its regular meeting Monday.

Butland noted that while the most recent (and eighth) brown water incident to plague east end residents seems to have subsided, their complaints to PUC Services Inc., himself and fellow Ward One City Councillor Paul Christian in regards to the colour, taste and odour of the water continue.

“One can appreciate their impatience,” Butland said.

Butland stated “it is important, if not imperative” that residents continue to call the PUC, as the PUC is taking note of the number of calls in determining any future decisions in regards to municipal tap water.

Those future decisions, Butland said, could include a return to the previous process used by the PUC to treat our water before the free chlorine process was introduced in October 2011.

The previous process involved a mix of chloramine, ammonia, chlorine and other chemicals.

Speaking to reporters after Monday’s Council meeting, Butland said “some residents are saying they have as many brown water events as they do clear water events.”

Butland told us he met with PUC President and CEO Dominic Parrella and said “this is an issue.”

Findings from PUC tests using sediment-testing devices in the community’s pipes are currently being examined, Butland said.

“They want to see how successful, or unsuccessful, the free chlorine has been.”

“If it’s not been successful (the PUC’s decision), it will have to be ‘do we go back to the old process or not?”

Butland said “that would be a very onerous decision.”

“To go back to the old process, you would have to introduce new chemicals into the system,” noting our tap water still would not taste as pleasant as it once did.

An enormous cost would be involved to revert back to the old process, though Butland said he did not know what that cost would be.

Butland emphasized “in order for the PUC to track the number of calls, people should call the PUC and say ‘I’ve had a brown water incident, or my water tastes or smells bad, and it will help the PUC make that decision in the fall.”

Larger cities such as Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto do not use the free chlorine process.

Butland said “I think in the fall they (the PUC) will be back before Council and say this has been a roaring success, a mediocre success, or things haven’t worked the way we thought they would,” acknowledging the public has never reacted favourably to the free chlorine process, and that public reaction would be even worse if the process is determined to be a failure after a year and a half has passed since the free chlorine process was introduced.

While several factors can be to blame for brown water, including construction work or defective pipes, the PUC suspects the widespread brown water incident that occurred in the east end May 7 was the result of unauthorized use of a fire hydrant by one or more members of the public.