Community Water System

City Water System

The City of Merritt’s water system is made up of five wells that extract water from aquifers located under most of the City of Merritt. The wells range from 30 meters to 150 meters deep and can supply up to a combined 315 L/sec.

As of 2025, the City has significantly increased its water storage capacity and now has six reservoirs that store more than 12.2 million litres. Another 1.5 million litres is in the approximately 70 km of piping ranging from 100mm to 350mm.

Merritt’s aquifer has supplied a safe and consistent supply of potable water for decades. The City of Merritt has taken measures to help protect the aquifer with the use of signs and public education.

In 2008, to meet permit requirements set out by Interior Health, the City of Merritt started to chlorinate its water supply. The chlorination is performed at each pump house at levels regulated by Interior Health.

Future Water Supply

The City of Merritt has historically relied mostly on four of its five wells, which are drilled into shallow aquifers (approximately 30-50 meters depth). The City’s Kengard Well draws from a different aquifer, deeper beneath the City of Merritt (approximately 150 meters depth).

The current capacity of the Kengard Well is 50L/s, but at present, the City is only using 2% of this capacity due to high levels of manganese (which will need to be filtered out). The pump capacity of this well could be increased to 75L/s.  The pump could also be upgraded in future.  The watermains are also sized to allow increased pumping capacity.

To maximize the use of this well and sustain the growth of the community, the City will have to install a water treatment facility on the Kengard Well. The City has received a grant from the Province of BC (fall 2024), enabling the City to proceed with establishing a plan for this improvement. The development of this improvement is currently at Phase 1, which involves engineering, environmental, and archaeological assessments, preliminary planning and design, community engagement, and, detailed design and tender preparation.

When this well is improved, the City of Merritt will not have to rely as much on the shallow aquifers fed by water sources such as the losing-reach Coldwater River, and thereby reduce our impact on fish habitats.  This would reduce the stress on our eco-system, and provide an ample, secure, and sustainable source of clean drinking water for many years to come.

Learn More About Merritt’s Drinking Water

Find answers to common water quality questions and other important facts about water conservation here in Merrittt. To find this information and more, click the attached report below.

View the Complete Circle of Water Report for the City of Merritt.