A tribute to public works, streetlighting crews

As the extremely cold temperatures continue in the Kincardine area, residents and the public works department continue to battle frozen waterlines.

Last year, there were 77 incidents of frozen water pipes, and chief administrative officer Murray Clarke says he hopes that won't be repeated this year.

At the Feb. 18 council meeting, he said that over the previous five days, there were 10 frozen water services, and of those, six had the same problem last year, and two of those saw their waterlines frozen twice last year. The most vulnerable area is the west side of the Town of Kincardine.

With crews able to thaw about five services per day, the current wait times to have a service thawed and water restored, can exceed a week, Clarke says.

All Kincardine water system users are asked to let a tap in their homes run continuously, about a one-quarter-inch stream (the width of a drinking straw). "The cost of doing so is minimal," says Clarke, "but the municipal expenses incurred to thaw a line results in a cost to all water system users." The cost to fix a service is about $800, he adds.

Residents may be upset with the inconvenience of having frozen water pipes; but they are very appreciative of the public works crews that are working diligently to restore water services.

Sandra and Rob Hiscox of Russell Street, Kincardine, extend thanks to the municipal water department staff and work crews for their dedication to getting water restored to homes and businesses after the many cases of pipes freezing.
"These crews work long hours outside in extreme cold and wind so that‎ people can have their water back running. Thank you for your hard work! It is well appreciated." 
 

Jim Bagshaw also commends the public works crews that are working in the cold and blowing snow to thaw out waterlines. "They have been working pretty well non-stop and the lines are freezing faster than they can fix them! They had 40 backlogged yesterday (Feb. 24)."

Meanwhile, also out in the cold and snow, are works crews with TM3 Inc., electrical contractors, of Cambridge, installing the new LED lighting throughout the Town of Kincardine. Workers are replacing 150-watt sodium bulbs with 53-watt LED bulbs in residential areas. Larger 73-watt LED bulbs will be used on major streets, while 101-watt bulbs will be used on arterial roads, such as Russell Street. Crews have been in the area for about a week-and-a-half, and have replaced 200 bulbs.

In November, 2013, Kincardine council approved the plan to bring in RealTerm Energy to supply and install LED lights on about 2,000 streetlights in Kincardine.
 

RealTerm Energy is not only installing the lights but also taking charge of the financing and ongoing maintenance for a 10-year period, after which the system will be turned over to the municipality.
 

The deal means LAS and RealTerm will do the following:

• Supply the LED fixtures meeting the municipality's specifications

• Warrant the equipment for 10 years

• Provide maintenance for 10 years

• Reduce electricity costs by more than 60 per cent

• Provide all capital funding for the project

• Transfer the risk of the LED program to RealTerm Energy

The new streetlighting is expected to reduce electrical and maintenance costs by about 60 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively, with estimated savings of $200,000 to Kincardine over the 10 years of the contract.