Nelson asks residents to conserve water during Oct. 1 Five-Mile pipeline repair

Mountain Station is part of Nelson’s drinking-water treatment and storage system.

Photo credit: City of Nelson

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NELSON — Nelson residents are being asked to reduce water use Thursday while city crews repair a small leak in the pipeline carrying water from Five-Mile Creek, which supplies about 90 per cent of the city’s drinking water.

The repair is expected to take about 10 hours, although the Five-Mile system itself is expected to be offline for about two hours. During that period, the city will draw water from its secondary sources at Anderson and Selous creeks.

The city has not published specific start and end times for the work. As of Wednesday evening, no boil-water or water-quality advisory tied to the repair had been posted. Stage 1 water restrictions remain in effect.

Five-Mile is Nelson’s primary water source and the pipeline carrying water from it is nearly a century old. Replacement of the line is a Stage 2 priority in the city’s Water Master Plan, with financial planning and design work continuing.

The city says the replacement is intended to improve reliability and access for future maintenance and allow water to be delivered at a higher rate under its water licence. A December 2024 city notice estimated the project at about $13 million, but no updated project total was included with this week’s repair announcement. Earlier long-range planning material placed the replacement in the 2027-28 period, while the current notice gives no firm construction date. The city has not said Thursday’s repair will change that schedule.

Nelson has added other infrastructure intended to provide backup capacity while the Five-Mile replacement remains in development. Completed projects include a booster station at Fairview and transmission main to Mountain Station, an extension of the Selous Creek supply line to Mountain Station and a finished-water reservoir there. The city says its reservoirs and active system storage provide capacity for more than 27.3 million litres of potable water.

Anderson and Selous creeks have also been used during previous Five-Mile shutdowns. During an emergency repair in August 2025, the two secondary sources supplied the city for about six hours. The city later changed its Anderson Creek diversion procedures after water levels dropped during that operation, adding monitoring and increasing the minimum downstream flow required when water is diverted.

For Thursday’s work, the city is asking residents to limit demand so water capacity remains available while the secondary sources are supplying the system. Residents can check the city’s water and emergency notices for any changes before or during the repair.

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