We talked also about how the general water quality has changed over the last two years. What was noticeable in the past was during the fall and winter rains you could say there was a consistent pattern to how a storm would cause the river water to increase in turbidity and how that would persist. The last couple of years have seen a rather dramatic change in the amount and persistence of turbidity in the river. When a rain storm hits we get the usual spike in turbidity but it never persists to the extent it used to. The quality improves much more quickly. I was also telling you about the two pumps we have at the inlet of the Filter Plant. These both pump water directly from the pipeline so the water has not been filtered or treated in anyway. These pumps leak a little around the shaft onto the floor. The last couple of years the amount of clay has been hugely reduced. There is still a little but nothing like the past.

In the past during the winter and spring you would also get periods of sudden high turbidity without any precipitation. We (the assistant shift engineers) would always believe these to be times the clay bank up the river slid. We never had confirmation of that, it’s just that’s what we thought it was. This never happens now either.

Regards, Ron Irwin, Asst. Shift Engineer, Catalyst Paper Corp, Crofton Mill