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By Justin Goulet

Pincher Creek receives provincial grant to upgrade water treatment plant

Jul 26, 2022 | 9:38 AM

PINCHER CREEK, AB – The Town of Pincher Creek has received a significant financial boost from the provincial government.

The town has gotten $231,873 in funding from the province’s Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership grant program.

The money will be used to upgrade the Water Treatment Plant Sodium Hypochlorite System.

Currently, the disinfection process used at the plant is a gas chlorine disinfection dosing system. According to the Town of Pincher Creek, that is one of the most common disinfection installations used but it comes with “many safety concerns”, including leakages of dangerous chlorine gas. The town said the installation is due for maintenance and upgrades in the near future, due to aging equipment.

Hypochlorite disinfection is an alternative to chlorine gas disinfection, with the town saying, “it is safe to use and is a preferred installation in many water treatment plants.”

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This type of system can either use sodium hypochlorite delivered in liquid or tablet form to a site, or can be generated on-site. An on-site hypochlorite generation system usually has a higher initial capital investment. However, it has far lower operating costs and reduces the need to continuously transport and handle dangerous chemicals, according to the Town of Pincher Creek.

The town said the replacement of the plant’s chlorine system with sodium hypochlorite “will have a significant impact on safety at the facility.”

The grant funding from the province will cover roughly 50% of the cost to upgrade the facility. The town expects to start the facility upgrading later in the fall.