The Works Department at Jean Marie River provides several important services to the community. The Public Works Department does all road and highway maintenance, airport maintenance and snow removal on the roads and at the airport. These important tasks help ensure the safety of our members and the traveling public. When necessary (i.e. during bad storm conditions) employees are on standby to ensure the airport continues to function as per Department of Transportation regulations.
Municipal services such as water, sewer and garbage services are also maintained by employees of the Works Departments. We have a class 1 trained water technician, Gerald Grossetete, who has the critical job of doing water sampling/testing to ensure our community members stay healthy. Water is our lifeline and we take care to ensure it does not become contaminated. Samples are taken weekly as part of a regular maintenance schedule. Some tests, such as turbidity, can be analyzed on site and others, such as tests for e. coli and other bacteria, are sent out for analysis.
Water testing is one of the most important parts of the self-sustaining infrastructure we have implemented at Jean Marie River. We don’t want another tragedy like the one that happened at Walkterton, ON and we take the right steps to ensure the health and safety of our community and the health of the ecosystem that sustains us.