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Water line construction to start this week

The company assigned to design and build a water line stretching 88 kilometres between Boyle and Wandering River will start construction work this week.

The company assigned to design and build a water line stretching 88 kilometres between Boyle and Wandering River will start construction work this week.

Michael Markowski, project manager from Edmonton-based Graham Construction, explained that crews will begin drilling on September 6, with an aim for completing the entire line by fall of 2012.

Once complete, the line will be capable of carrying a maximum of 2.5 million litres of water per day.

The water, originating at Athabasca’s water treatment plant, will travel east to Boyle, then north to Wandering River, with the pipeline designed to make a pit stop in Grassland.

“What it comes down to is this will be more than just servicing Wandering River, this helps the entire county,” he said, explaining that service connections hooked up along the route during construction will provide water for area farmers and residents.

“It is intended to provide to many communities.”

He added that part of the project is to modify Grassland’s current water treatment plant into a truck fill station, able to provide for local businesses, industry and residents.

The water line is part of Alberta’s 2003 Water for Life strategy, calling for the establishment of regionalized water systems. Locally that means doling out water to the rest of the county from Athabasca’s one-year-old water treatment plant.

Crews constructing the pipeline will begin by digging open holes, then drilling parallel to the ground at 3.5 metres depth, allowing them to insert fused PVC piping to carry the water.

Having holes every half a kilometre instead of digging trenches will minimize disturbance and environmental impact, he said.

Graham Construction was also the general contractor involved in the building of the Athabasca plant, completed in the summer of 2010, which gave them the inside track to talks about the new pipeline.

Considered to be qualified for the job, the company was brought into the fold in the fall of 2010, responsible for both design and construction of the pipeline.

That design/build methodology, he explained, aims at reducing costs by efficiency.

“Traditionally, the design happens, and it’s priced after,” he said. “But that may not be the most efficient when it comes to constructability.”

He explained that having designers in on the construction process allows them to be more flexible when it comes to potential issues, adding that it will also speed up the process as design and construction will overlap.

As general contractor Graham brought in Stantech Consulting to help with design and Red Deer-based Pidherney’s for construction.

Jack Dowhaluk, county councillor representing Wandering River, said he is glad to see the infrastructure that will provide for his constituents.

“This is the first step to seeing some more development in Wandering River,” he said.

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