The Westlock Water Treatment Plant will soon get a $250,000 upgrade to its water distribution and monitoring system.
At its June 14 meeting, the Westlock Regional Water Services Commission voted to proceed with a $190,000 water distribution pump replacement, $17,000 in vault sealing and a $19,000 upgrade to the plant’s regional computer monitoring system.
Funded mostly by the Alberta Government’s Water for Life Program, the commission will shoulder 18 per cent of the cost of the upgrades through its own capital reserves.
The upgrades, said commission chairman Clem Fagnan have been high on the priority list since construction began on a regional distribution system after the commission was created in 2008.
“[The pumps] are still operating, but they’re on their last legs,” Fagnan said.
The high lift pumps, Fagnan explained, will cost as much to be replaced as rebuilt, and will cost roughly $35,000. The remaining $155,000 comes from the Water For Life program.
An additional $3,000 will come locally from the commissions to pay for vault sealing in air breathers along distribution lines throughout the county.
As water moves through the pipes, air accumulates and has to be automatically released for water to flow properly and must be resealed to avoid water contamination.
The SCADA system monitors booster stations along the line, notifying the water plant operator of problems anywhere in the line. That system upgrade will draw $4,500 from commission reserves.
Though administration has yet to determine a timeline for the work, pump replacement should be complete within the year, while Fagnan said SCADA upgrades will be an immediate priority.
“It’s working, but it should be done as soon as possible because it’s our way of alerting employees that something’s wrong,” Fagnan said.
