Water system upgrades in the horizon for P.A.

“We’ve already started on the process, but this report brings to light just how important it is and how we’re going to have to make that a priority for years to come.”

The work would likely happen over a 10 year span and would cost just under $4.4 million. The estimated cost does not include the surface road work.

Another project included in the report includes upgrading the water pumps at two of the three reservoirs in the city.

The city has three water reservoirs located on River St., 2nd Ave., and Marquis Road. The pumping mechanisms at the 2nd Ave., and Marquis Road location have not been updated for many years, said Hicks.

Between the three stations, there is about 39 million litres of treated water storage for the city – about 1,000 litres per person in the city, he added.

“If one of those stations were to be completely offline because of a malfunction, failure or whatever the case may be, the other ones would have great difficulty maintaining pressure throughout the city.”

While the pumps have back-up generators, Hicks noted those generators are very old and may not be reliable.

“If we have a total outage, we would be out of water before two days were up. Probably about a day and half.”

Out of the 17 recommendations, Hicks said there are many recommendations that could be done within the next three years.

Those include installing new hydrants, and several new pipes in smaller roads throughout the city.

The city has the report in time for their 2016 budget discussions. The total cost of the recommendations add up to just under $5.5 million.

The report was created by AECOM and took 19 months to complete. In addition to the water system analysis, the engineering consulting company is currently working on creating a sewer and a storm main analysis for the city.

knguyen@panow.com

On Twitter: @khangvnguyen

by Khang Nguyen

Water system upgrades in the horizon for P.A.

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