YORKTON - Planning continues toward the eventual construction of a new Wastewater Treatment Plant in Yorkton.
Monday Yorkton Council received an update on the progress at its regular meeting from Connor Hunt – Director of Environmental Services, with the city.
“The Environmental Services Department, in collaboration with representatives from KGS and Jacobs, have continued advancing the Wastewater Treatment Plant Renewal Project,” he said.
In terms of background Hunt explained, the renewal project “launched in 2019, has been a collaborative effort involving consultants from KGS Group, Jacobs, and representatives from the City of Yorkton.”
The project focus is the planning, design, and revitalization of the existing treatment plant, originally constructed in the 1950’s and last expanded 34 years ago.
“This initiative was driven due to an escalation of equipment failures stemming from numerous components of the treatment process exceeding their intended operational lifespans, with several systems now classified in a failure state,” said Hunt.
Key achievements to date include completing the Downstream Use Impact Study (DUIS) and conducting initial condition assessments of the treatment plant in 2020. These steps provided a solid foundation for funding applications and project evaluations.
By 2021, funding approval of $150,200.00 for 50 per cent of the business case was secured through two contribution phases provided by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
Through 2022 and 2023, the project progressed to the one per cent design stage, supported by an additional funding application and the completion of a project business case.
Continuing on; the renewal has now entered the Preliminary Design Phase, with the project at approximately 10 per cent design, said Hunt.
“Current efforts are focused on regulatory analysis, stakeholder consultations, and advancing the design to the 30 per cent milestone. This phase will refine capital cost estimates and lay the groundwork to begin the detailed design stage,” he said.
Things are also changing as the planning continues, said Hunt.
“Recently several significant developments have occurred,” he said.
For example, The Water Security Agency issued a new operating permit for the WPCP, effective from 2025 through 2030, which includes a new limit on E. coli concentrations.
“It is important to state that the existing facility was not designed to address; and cannot be modified to address total coliforms, including E. coli without significant capital investment. This to say; the plant is expected to enter into, and remain in a continuous state of contravention until the renewal project is completed. This regulatory change emphasizes the urgency of advancing through the pre-design and detailed design phases irrespective of receiving necessary funds,” explained Hunt.
“Additionally this change further highlights the necessity of progressing communication between municipal, provincial, and federal orders of government, which will become critical toward securing the necessary funding for project execution beyond the design stages.”
Additionally, discussions with the Water Security Agency have highlighted the importance of aquifer modelling to support regulatory approval with regards to the aquifer recharge proposal being researched as a component of preliminary design.
A proposal for this modelling, led by Beckie Hydrogeology and supported by leading experts in the field, has been submitted to the City for consideration, said Hunt.
To support this undertaking, a funding application was made under the Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation (LLCA) grant through FCM’s Climate-Ready Plans and Processes funding stream.
Council approved a motion to direct staff to apply for a funding opportunity from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation initiative for the Vulnerability Assessment of the Logan East Valley Aquifer in Yorkton.
As the next phase of public engagement, administration plans to host an open house at the Gallagher Centre on Jan. 15, said Hunt.
