The city is looking into several options to replace an ageing pipeline that will be connected to the new wastewater treatment facility.
Currently, all of the city’s wastewater flows through a 25 km pipeline built in the 1980’s which runs to the North Saskatchewan River. The pipe will not be able to handle the capacity in the next 20 years based on the flow projections from the new treatment plant.
City council were informed a new pipeline would come at a significant cost, but there may be alternatives to maintain the flow at a lower cost. Council approved the recommendation to engage in a study exploring the different options, one of which includes diverting the discharge into the Neale Edmunds complex.
“It’s going to look at various options and ensure that the information is available to the engineering team as the move forward with whatever they have to move forward with,” Mayor Gerald Aalbers says. “If they don’t have that information then you can’t make a good decision.”
The Integrated Project Delivery team for the new wastewater treatment facility considered the option in the planning stages and a preliminary assessment was done at the time. However, the assessment was paused in order to avoid delays on the facility.
“There’s opportunities that need to be looked at, but we need to make sure we cover off all the bases. There’s a lot of pieces that will come after the wastewater treatment plant, but until we get there we need to make sure we know which direction [to go with].”
Aalbers says the study will also give them a better understanding of the flow and management of the wastewater in the system.
The Downstream User Impact Study was awarded to Hutchinson Environmental Ltd. for about $67,000. The Hydraulic Assessment was given to Sameng Inc. for around $26,000. Both were hired previously for the preliminary assessment and will be continuing the work.
Once completed, the study will be presented at a future city council meeting.