By Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

Water, wastewater, landfill submit multi-million dollar CIP projects for consideration

Nov 21, 2016 | 4:17 PM

LETHBRIDGE – The city’s water, wastewater and landfill services have now submitted their 2018 -2027 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects to council, awaiting approval this spring.
 
Wastewater was first up at Monday’s (Nov. 21) meeting with the following seven projects:
 
– replace existing headworks facility, mechanisms for two primary clarifiers ($11.4-million, 2018);
– construct three new primary clarifiers, sludge pumping facility, conveyance channels ($13.8-million, 2019/2025;
– additional biosolids dewatering equipment, upgrade digester process control ($2-million, 2019);
– purchase replacement and standby components in the event of a lift station equipment failure ($1-million, 2019);
– phosphorous recovery, reduce amount returned to the plant, produce fertilizer byproduct ($6-million, 2022);
– upgrade UV disinfection ($3-million, 2023;
– replace three large aeration blowers with a number of smaller ones, improve control and efficiency ($3-million, 2024).
 
Water services then put forward another four projects:
 
– residuals management for water treatment and waste disposal currently discharged into the river ($15-million, 2018);
– replace existing online analytical instruments ($1.5-million, 2019);
– additional clarification capacity for required level of process redundancy ($12.1-million, 2021);
– expand storage at Northeast Reservoir, replace mechanical and electrical equipment at Uplands, Northeast and Mayor Magrath Drive Reservoirs ($9.4-million, 2021).
 
Doug Kaupp, Water, Wastewater and Stormwater manager, says all of the projects mentioned address regulation changes, aging equipment and reliability needs.
 
The residuals management project is the only one anticipated to increase utility rates. A new operating budget will make the final determination, but a six to seven-per cent increase should be phased in over two to three years, according to Kaupp.
 
He noted that residential growth doesn’t affect water and wastewater CIP projects since less water per person is used and with homes becoming increasingly more efficient. However, industrial growth has had a small impact.
 
“Our commercial and industrial development has grown at really quite a pace. You’ll [hear of] industrial facilities having expansion projects. In many cases that means that if they’re producing more french fries or canola oil, then they’re also using more water in their processes,” he explained.
 
That said, Kaupp noted that the community as a whole has become significantly more water efficient in the past 30 years.
 
Lastly, Dave Schaaf, Waste and Recycling Services Manager, presented these four projects to take place over the next ten years at the Lethbridge waste and recycling centre:
 
– design, construction, closure of disposal cells ($7.4-million, 2018; $2.3-million, 2019; $650,000, 2020; $11.6-million, 2022-2027);
– design, construction of gas collection and treatment facility ($250,000, 2018; $5.2-million, 2019-2020; $240,000, 2023-2025);
– landscaping, water transfer system, irrigation system, educational centre ($3-million, 2018);
– design, upgrade facility to increase storage capacity on windy days ($2.9-millon, 2019).
 
Similar to the water services projects, no significant rate changes are expected. However, Schaaf explained that a debt incurred from the original purchase of the landfill is expiring soon, which will mean the land fill utility charge will fall from $3.50/month to $1.50/month next year, and disappear completely by 2024.
 
In support of a Business Recycling Strategy approved by City Council in 2015, the tipping rate will increase by $10 to $85/tonne in 2017 for non-residential customers.
 
Schaaf says all of the proposed projects are in an effort to increase environmental awareness, while also continuing to be a good neighbour in Lethbridge.
 
“It’s about how we impact us living in the city, how we impact the environment and what we can do. We seek the cooperation from those that live here to be able to do that much better.”
 
The 2018-2027 City of Lethbridge CIP will be debated and approved next spring.