A solution to Lloydminster’s wastewater problem could be found down the road.
A partnership between two companies, Tecvalco Ltd., and Soneera Water LLC, has been working on a new wastewater treatment system for the town of Unity, which is located southeast of the Border City.
Soneera has the North American license for a system of water cleaning technology called Memfree, which uses continuous-flow flocculation. The system is constructed in modules, with the amount of modules depending upon the amount of water needing to be cleaned.
The total cost of the Unity project reportedly was between $3.4 and $3.5 million, including the cost of infrastructure. The last estimated cost for Lloydminster’s replacement plant stood at $80 million.
Mike Menger, the president of Tecvalco, says that there are synergies between what Lloydminster is trying to accomplish, and the project in Unity. Darrell Behan, the CEO of Soneera Water for North America, said it may be unnecessary for a full-scale plant to be built.
Menger said there had been contact between the partners and the City back in the fall to talk about the project, with none since the October election. He indicated they would want to be able to bid for the RFP on the plant when it comes.
As the wastewater project currently stands, no announcement has been made by the City of Lloydminster on a new timeline for the work, and no new funding has come from the federal or provincial governments.
Lloydminster mayor Gerald Aalbers has said the project will get to a certain point and stop, without more funding.
“We just do not have the money to proceed to go to tender to award that project,” said Aalbers.
“The message we’re going to convey to both the provincial and federal government is that “we need your support.”
Aalbers did say that Soneera would have potential to bid on the plant project, and that Lloydminster and Unity were “two extremes.” An RFP for a design engineer for the project is currently out from the City.
“We’re looking at different options, we’ll examine all the options, we’ll examine options for reliability, costs, and that will be through the design and engineering,” said Aalbers.