.dwg said:
Why would Canderel give two shits? They know people will buy their product regardless. And given that most people don't know what a booster pump is, you can be assured that nobody researches that before making the purchase.

The Aura tower is a case study in how a large number of storeys does not equal prestige or employing best practices. Everything about Aura is second-rate.
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Honestly, one would hope it would be code. Or at minimum accepted industry practice.

We all know of similar instances of stupidity, shortsightedness or reckless stinginess, but that doesn't make it ok.

I expect critical health/life/safety building components which need certain conditions to operate (not seize) to get said conditions or every reasonable mitigation in the event they don't.

I expect, frankly, that in matters far less serious, such as custom light fixtures, that one has spare bulbs and requisite tools on hand to affect repairs.

That being the case, I would be all the more insistent when it comes to structure, to water-supply, power-supply and life-safety systems.

It needs to be said here, if they have a fire-suppression system that operates on water, the absence of these pumps could be catastrophic in a residence of 2,000 people.
 
Northern Light said:
Honestly, one would hope it would be code. Or at minimum accepted industry practice.

We all know of similar instances of stupidity, shortsightedness or reckless stinginess, but that doesn't make it ok.

I expect critical health/life/safety building components which need certain conditions to operate (not seize) to get said conditions or every reasonable mitigation in the event they don't.

I expect, frankly, that in matters far less serious, such as custom light fixtures, that one has spare bulbs and requisite tools on hand to affect repairs.

That being the case, I would be all the more insistent when it comes to structure, to water-supply, power-supply and life-safety systems.

It needs to be said here, if they have a fire-suppression system that operates on water, the absence of these pumps could be catastrophic in a residence of 2,000 people.
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Actually no it wouldn't be catastrophic. In the event of low pressure in the sprinkler system the fire pump engages to build pressure in the system.

The fire pump and the booster pumps are two separate devices. One for residential and one for the life safety systems.

I believe they are kept separate for situations such as this.
 
Northern Light said:
It needs to be said here, if they have a fire-suppression system that operates on water, the absence of these pumps could be catastrophic in a residence of 2,000 people.
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I think that if the water supply to the building's fire systems is not working the City would be closing it and getting people out. Of course, Aura thinks quite highly of itself!

A NEW BENCHMARK FOR DOWNTOWN LIVING
Aura sets a new benchmark for downtown living with 995 units offering luxurious finishes, exceptional materials, and world-class interior design. Aura's stunning amenities are designed to impress with a soaring double-height lobby, and a stunning rooftop terrace.

I note that they do not mention having running water :->
 
DSC said:
I live in a 40-year old building and we are still using the original booster pumps (we have two - one that runs 100% of the time and a second to act as back-up). Of course, both have been refurbished, once, and we are about to replace the control mechanism but booster pumps are really not complex or rare. They DO need to be maintained and monitored and, from what one can see at Aura, they probably weren't.
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Had an interesting conversation about booster pumps (I am very hip and cool) with a friend who’s the president of his Toronto condo board, which has *four* booster pumps for their two buildings (an 8s mid-rise and a 16s tower). Despite the buildings being less than 15 years old, they recently replaced all of them with variable stream pumps (which are more reliable and efficient than fixed stream pumps, which is what the originals were), which cost about $22K apiece. The City vastly prefers that developers use variable stream pumps, and actually offers a very robust rebate program; the combination of the anticipated efficiency gains with the rebates brought the repayment period down to less than 24 months.
 
ShonTron said:
The water is back on, according to the Star:

www.thestar.com

After fears it would be out for seven weeks, the water is back on at the Aura condo tower

Following a day of apprehension and anger, cold water was restored late Saturday night to Toronto residents of a condo tower described as the tallest in Canada.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com
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Turns out some of those pumps were already failing weeks ago.

"In it’s initial email, the management company had blamed the pump failure on low water pressured caused by a broken city water main, adding it would hold the city responsible for all damages caused. It later said “multiple” water pumps that service the building had failed earlier in the month and ordered replacements didn’t arrive before the final pump failed."
 
ADRM said:
Had an interesting conversation about booster pumps (I am very hip and cool) with a friend who’s the president of his Toronto condo board, which has *four* booster pumps for their two buildings (an 8s mid-rise and a 16s tower). Despite the buildings being less than 15 years old, they recently replaced all of them with variable stream pumps (which are more reliable and efficient than fixed stream pumps, which is what the originals were), which cost about $22K apiece. The City vastly prefers that developers use variable stream pumps, and actually offers a very robust rebate program; the combination of the anticipated efficiency gains with the rebates brought the repayment period down to less than 24 months.
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The replacement of (larger) pumps with variable speed drive ones was a Toronto Hydro program (PumpSaver) and was cancelled by Mr Ford - or more accurately moved to the Independent Electricity System Operator and greatly reduced in scope. See: https://www.torontohydro.com/for-business/business-conservation and http://www.kilowattway.ca/ Our condo had two pumps replaced in 2018 - but our water booster ones were not eligible as they are too small.
 
TheKingEast said:
lol, so much for 7 weeks without water. :rolleyes:
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Probably would have been 7 weeks if the Star didn't go in to blow up the story.
They could give 2 shits about the residents not having water for 2 months until the Star would expose their shit

Making a note to never ever consider buying in this building
 
JasonParis said:
I can't believe a management company could even write such an email. It's just NOT AN OPTION.
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Clearly it was not only an option, it was THE option they chose. There are actually two Condo Corporations in Aura (TSCC 2421 and TSCC 2446) and I bet that, because the water stopped early on a Saturday morning, the PM Company for both (ICC) did not have its A Team on duty. Of course, their communications did not appear to improve much after several hours but ...
 
Northern Light said:
BTW, this article shows another management email with a spelling/tense error; and staff who didn't speak to the Star, didn't answer phones, didn't answer emails and wouldn't speak directly with residents either.

Wow....
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I have yet to live in a building where management knows basic grammar and spelling.
 
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