(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Infrastructure Investments

Future site of proposed new water treatment plant purchased for $900K

Jul 19, 2021 | 5:00 PM

A parcel of land west of Prince Albert, that may one day be home to a new water treatment plant, has been purchased at a cost of $900,000.

The site (roughly 30 acres) is located off Peter Pond Road, and is north of the North Saskatchewan River. Steering Committee Chair Brent Miller told paNOW the purchase represents a critical piece for the project.

“Now that we have the land, we can start to do detailed studies and design work. Without the land we couldn’t do that because we didnt know where for instance pipelines had to go, or where buildings had to be situated,” he explained.

In addition to the land purchase, the Prince Albert Regional Water Utility Board (PARWU) also approved an authorization for expenditure (AFE) in the amount of $1.37 million. The AFE essentially pays for some engineering work that will provide the board with a lot more certainty with respect to both costs and process.

The site design and what sort of treatment process will be required will also be looked at. Miller said the work will lead to a second AFE that will help the board make a final project approval.

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“We anticipate that will be in October, 2022,” he said.

Other work being done is the testing of water, and a geo-technical study of the plant site and the two projected locations for river crossings to get water to the south side of the river. Miller said they have engaged a survey company to do profile of river, to help understand where exactly the one in 500 year flood plain is.

The PARWU board itself has undergone a bit of a face lift and expansion. The board now consists of members from five municipalities (RM’s of Prince Albert, Duck Lake, Buckland and Shellbrook and Town of Shellbrook). The committee held their first meeting last week.

“What we are going to focus on for the steering committee moving forward is that we have people on it that have specific skill sets that can help us advising and controlling the execution of the project,” MIller said.

The initial cost of the project, when announced in January, was estimated to be in the area of $45 million however a preliminary study done by a Saskatoon consulting firm found a price tag of $52 million was more realistic.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell