Holyrood’s water system is ‘safe and reliable,’ says Winsor
By Mark Squibb
Holyrood councillor Steve Winsor offered an emphatic defense of the town’s water system during the July 28 public council meeting in response to comments that he and other councillors have seen on social media.
“The system is a safe and reliable source of water for essential household use, acknowledging that there are seasonal demands and maintenance to be managed, and positive improvement projects ongoing,” said the councillor.
Winsor explained the town’s water supply is dependent on a 255,000 gallon water tank located at George Cove Mountain.
Eight local wells pump water into that tank.
The Town has earmarked the construction of a future tank that will hold 543,000 gallons of water – over double the capacity of the current tank.
“The project had to be phased because of the increased cost and scope of work,” said Winsor. “Last year we talked about hoping to have that installed this year. Very disappointing. But there’s a lot of reasons for that.”
So far, the Town has completed civil work for connecting the new water tank to the existing system, a geological study to create the pad for the new tank, and identified the scope of work for the pad.
“This is now a shovel ready project waiting for approval to award a tender,” said Winsor, who added the tank itself will be tendered separately and is expected to be completed in 2027.
Council hired Prime Drilling to install the tank foundation and underground piping and valves for the new tank at a cost of $70,000 back in June.
Holyrood has over 32 kilometres of underground water pipe, and Winsor admitted much of that piping is old, and leaks are common.
The town experienced ten leaks in five weeks this summer, including on Salmonier Line, Country Path, Sir Albert Walsh Drive, Penney’s Lane, Burns Lane, and Conception Bay Highway. Some of the leaks, said Winsor, occurred on residential properties. Six of the leaks occurred between July 15 and 19. During that same week, a lightning strike short circuited the pump control sensors.
“They all went offline at 8 o’clock in the night,” said Winsor. “So, now they’re not pumping and filling up the tank overnight. During the period of the leaks, and the lightning strike, we lost 10 feet in the tank. That’s 85,000 gallons of water.”
Winsor said additional water usage during the summer for things like swimming pools and lawn sprinklers creates even more demand on the system.
In 2026, the average monthly usage between January to June was about 6.7 million gallons a month – an increase of about 817,000 gallons per month over the same time period last year.
That increase, said Winsor, could not be contributed to new housing builds.
Whenever a leak is fixed, the section of pipe is replaced with a flexible pipe made of crosslinked polyethylene that Winsor said is an improvement in material over the copper pipe already in the ground.
“So, as we’re doing this, we’re improving the system,” said Winsor.
The councillor allowed that while the Town continues to proactively replace pipe in suspected trouble areas, replacing all 32 kilometres of it is not feasible.
Winsor said Holyrood has secured $3 million in funding for water improvement projects, and that St. John’s engineering firm CCBL is advising the Town on the best way to spend that money.
“They have the best possible information and history and record available to them on this town’s water system,” said Winsor. “They are a very reputable engineering firm. They are very experienced and knowledgeable. They have hydro geologists on staff with masters degrees and they have a wide spectrum of experience in this province and outside this province, with a lot of different ground conditions and challenges.”
The town is investigating three new potential wells, one of which has already been determined to be a viable water source.
Winsor added that while council has considered surface water options in the past, CCBL recommended the town stick with a well based system.
“The surface water route requires far more engineering and more costly infrastructure improvements,” said Winsor.
Meanwhile, at that same meeting, council decided to rescind a temporary water ban that had been implemented on July 8 while keeping a water conservation order in effect.
“Residents will always have water, to the best of our ability, for necessary, essential, daily activity,” said Winsor.
Under the conservation order, the Town is asking residents to avoid unnecessary lawn watering, limit car washing, avoid filling swimming pools and hot tubs, and reduce power washing of driveways, decks, siding and other surfaces.
Following the council meeting of July 28, the Town suffered a watermain leak two days later on July 30 along the Conception Bay Highway.