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(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)
Melfort water treatment plant upgrades

Melfort regional water treatment plant upgrades to begin at end of April

Apr 15, 2020 | 2:00 PM

The regional water treatment plant in Melfort will be undergoing some upgrades in the near future.

SaskWater Manager of Corporate Communications Courtney Mihalicz told northeastNOW the existing water treatment plant will be expanded, and the arrival of a second clarifier, additional filters, and backup power will be installed.

“Doing these upgrades will overall improve the complete system reliability, facilitate the performance of routine maintenance, and reduce the risk of service interruption,” Mihalicz said.

The improvements are part of upgrades to the SaskWater Codette Lake regional water supply system, which services Melfort and area.

The project has been in the works for a while and received grant funding late last year. Mihalicz said the upgrades were set to begin in March, but were put on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said it was important to SaskWater to work with their contractor to come to an understanding as to what had to be done to have to the project proceed. According to Mihalicz, SaskWater felt it was in the best interest of the customers on the system to continue with the project.

“We worked with the general contractor to coordinate and implement specific safer practices to protect against the spread of COVID-19 and these measures are in place to protect the workers and their surrounding community while ensuring that the upgrades can be performed,” Mihalicz said.

The crews are mobilizing to the site, and excavation work is set to begin at the end of the month. Mihalicz said the project should be completed in March of 2021, provided there aren’t many delays due to the COVID-19 situation.

The coin-operated truck fill facility at the water treatment plant will close April 30, and will be out of service indefinitely during construction. Access to the water treatment plant property will be limited to construction workers, tradespeople, suppliers, and SaskWater employees during construction.

Mihalicz said SaskWater is working with the City of Melfort on an alternate truck fill location, but that likely won’t be ready until the end of May.

“In the interim, the towns of Kinistino and Tisdale have agreed to provide their truck fills as an alternative use for people,” Mihalicz said. She recommended residents get a hold of the Kinistino and Tisdale town offices to get more details on how to access the sites.

Customers won’t experience service interruptions during the water treatment plant upgrades, Mihalicz said, and the COVID-19 situation is not impacting SaskWater’s ability to provide water and wastewater services.

cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974

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