City council discussed the positives and negatives of selling the water treatment plant to SaskWater at a town hall on May 21. (Nikita Ganovicheff/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Nikita Ganovicheff

Deal Not Done

City council still asking for feedback on SaskWater deal after town hall

May 23, 2019 | 10:17 AM

Less than 10 people attended a town hall on May 21 to discuss the proposal made by SaskWater to buy the Meadow Lake water treatment plant, water ponds and intake pumps.

In the presentation the city weighed the benefits and risks of the deal. One problem discussed was a lack of qualified personnel to run the facility in the future. The water treatment plant requires someone to be able to run a Class IV facility and there are few in the province with the qualifications.

A benefit that SaskWater brings is they employ many people with the proper qualifications who would be able to run the facility if needed. A representative for SaskWater also said anyone who is already working at the water treatment plant will be offered employment with SaskWater.

SaskWater would also be responsible for regulating the water quality as well as applying for any federal grants that could be used for the facility. They would also be able to monitor the facility 24/7 remotely.

RPCN Artist

'Felt like a movie': Chris Chipak making waves in the art world

5h ago

Russia-Ukraine War

In a first, President Biden gives green light for Ukraine's use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles in Russia

Nov 17, 2024

Riderville

Shades of 2007

Nov 15, 2024

SaskWater would own and run the facility and will bill the city at a fixed operating cost. A risk brought up in the presentation was when the water bill increases, residents will be less likely to use water and the city would need to find other ways to make up the differences.

When asked by a community member, how much debt the water plant currently has on the city Jessica Walters, the city manager, clarified the situation.

“At the moment we have no debt on the water plant itself,” Walters said. “If we don’t go forward with this agreement, we would be looking at taking about a $2.4 million loan for the upgrades that were finished last summer.”

Walters said one of the problems they faced last year was an unprecedented amount of algae growth. The algae caused the workers at the plant to work an extra 500 hours and the growth is expected to occur again in the future, Walters said.

Chad Braun, an account manager with SaskWater, spoke more on this issue after it was brought up in the question period. Braun said the source water coming into the plant is complicated and requires a balancing act of mixing chemicals to prevent organics and solvents to provide good quality water.

“We would be looking at running pilots to see anywhere we can find efficiencies,” Braun said. “There would be smaller projects where we set up a small pilot system to see if there is different treatment options.”

SaskWater hopes to take possession of the water treatment plant in September. The city said June 13 would be the earliest they can discuss the deal at a city council meeting.

Mayor Merlin Seymour said council is still looking at the proposal and they have not signed anything yet. Seymour is asking the community to discuss this deal and send any feedback to the council.

During the question period, a few residents were concerned about the short notice of the town hall. One resident also brought up the issue of not everyone in the community uses a computer or Facebook and wouldn’t know about the deal.

The city responded the day after the town hall, saying they will be mailing out more information as well as posting it to the city’s website. The online survey has also been extended to June 7.

–

nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @Nikitaganov