Members of the Water and Sewer department. From left: Foreman Jordan Tait, Manager Geoff Soderberg, Darcy Grayson. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Public works

Meet the people who keep Prince Albert running

Apr 23, 2020 | 8:00 AM

Day or night, 365 days a year, there are two operators sitting at the control center inside Prince Albert’s water treatment plant on River Street. At any given time, they’re monitoring 500 to 1000 data points between four computer screens to ensure the city has clean, safe drinking water.

On Tuesday morning, operator Evan McLeod is watching the amount carbon in the water being pumped into the plant from the North Saskatchewan.

Water Treatment plant operators Evan McLeod and Scott Wallace at work. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

“I’m monitoring the conditions so if there’s a sudden change then we can make adjustments,” he explains, gesturing at a gesticulating graph on the screen. “There will be a spike that comes along, like this one, but bigger.”

Spring, right before the ice on the river breaks up, is one of the most challenging times at the plant because the river is at its most unpredictable.

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As the flow of the water increases, it presses up against the ice, creating enough pressure to lift it, but not break it. The resulting turbulence stirs up sediment from the bottom of the river and pushes it into the plant’s intake valves.

“You have to do a lot of things at once here,” explains McLeod. “Sometimes more than one thing can go wrong at a time and you have to be able to problem solve.”

This year, as an added pressure, special security protocols have been enacted at the plant to protect employees’ health amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There are only eight permanent operators with the specialized knowledge and training to run the P.A. plant, so each one is vital.

“If one of us gets sick, that’s a huge blow to our work force,” McLeod says.

McLeod and his partner Scott Wallace are among the 105 public works employees who continue to provide essential services for the city during the pandemic, from keeping the taps on, to ensuring garbage is collected. Staff spanning nine departments keep Prince Albert running.

Members of the Roadways department, Danielle Cook (left) and Foreman Sheree MacDonald. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

Across town in East Hill, Roadways Foreman Sheree MacDonald is supervising her crew filling potholes.

MacDonald has dozens of potholes on her list to repair today, plus roads to fix at Little Red Park.

Asked if spring is her busiest season, she laughs.

“We’re busy all the time,” she says. “We do the asphalt and the concrete for summertime, then we do snow removal.”

With 39 years under her belt, MacDonald is one of the City of Prince Albert’s longest serving employees.

“I like being outside,” she says. “I wouldn’t want to be in a desk job.”

Public works employees repair a pothole. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

While MacDonald’s crew repairs seasonal damage to the asphalt, another group of public works employees is dealing with a different set of spring’s messy side effects.

“I know a lot of people think when the snow’s gone the frost is out of the ground,” says Water and Sewer Manager Geoff Soderberg. “But the frost will actually stay until mid-June.”

The problem is, as snow melts, underground catch basins and culverts stay frozen, leaving the water with nowhere to go.

On a service road just off Second Ave. W. a miniature lake is creeping dangerously close to the thoroughfare.

In the space of 72 hours last week, the Water and Sewer department responded to 51 drainage calls, including for near over-flowing ditches like this one. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

To drain it, a crew is feeding a high-powered steamer into the adjoining culvert to blast out the ice.

“[We do] at least 50 a day, probably closer to 75 usually,” Soderberg explains. “And the bad part is when it’s cold and the frost is still in the ground, you can go back to the same one multiple times because it will keep freezing.”

(Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

With the culvert cleared and the basin now dry, the workers move on to the next culvert. They’ll keep going until the water eventually can runoff into a slough.

Like MacDonald, Soderberg has also had a long career with the city. He’s worked for Prince Albert for 23 years.

“You have the sense of accomplishment of seeing your work,” he says. “You have the responsibility of making sure everybody has good quality water and being able to fulfill that is pretty rewarding.”

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom