WATER DEPARTMENT
History
The original water system was constructed in 1900 and was privately owned by a railroad company. In the 1940's, the City of Abbotsford acquired the water system which at that time consisted of two very large dug wells and a bolted steal standpipe. The city bought a third dug well from a private milk dairy plant that had two vertical 12 foot diameter shafts and multiple hand dug 5 foot diameter tunnels radiating as much as 100 feet from one of the shafts. All three of the dug wells and the standpipe are still in use today. The City installed additional watermain to serve the growing community and constructed two conventional drilled wells.
The City of Abbotsford's water story took a turn in the late 1970's when the City experienced water shortages during a water drought. The City was able to drill seven additional wells during the 1970's to 2000. In 1997, the City constructed the Central WTP that treats water from 10 of the wells and is constructed over the top of one of the original dug wells. Shortly after this, the City constructed the Porky Creek WTP that treats four wells at a location northeast of the City. In the early 2000's water demand again was greater than the safe yield of the aquifer and the City added Wells 14 and 15. In 2012 the City completed a $12.6 million water project which consisted of twelve new collector wells and a new Eau Pleine WTP.