BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead councillors will go ahead with a sounding assessment for the Manola wastewater lagoon.
Councillors unanimously approved the commission of the study during their June 17 meeting despite the cost of the project being roughly $10,000 above what was initially slated for the project.
The extra funds will come from public work's 2025 revenue fund.
In the 2025 operating budget, public works set aside $17,000 for the sounding of the lagoon to determine its capacity.
However, when the municipality's engineering company, Associated Engineering, provided a proposal to carry out the work, the cost had ballooned to $27,087.
Public works manager Travis Wierenga said the project has been on the county's books for some time, noting that they had proposed completing the study in both 2023 and 2024, but it was delayed due to budget considerations.
Under the county's Procurement Policy (AD-007), projects that are 10 per cent over budget approval.
Wierenga added that Manola is the last of the municipality's wastewater lagoons that require the study.
Associated Engineering conducted sounding studies for the lagoons in Dunstable in 2021 for $14,500 and Thunder Lake in 2022 for $16,500.
"The largest portion of the cost is $11,565 for a sludge survey, which a third-party consultant does," he said.
The municipality's other wastewater lagoon, located in Neerlandia, has recently undergone a significant upgrade, and there are no concerns about its condition or capacity.
Wierenga said the reason for the significant jump is that last year, the two companies that specialize in sludge surveys in the province merged, adding that one of the results is that prices for the service have risen significantly.
However, he said, the county could use the expected savings, which Associated Engineering believes will come in at about $10,000 below budget from upgrading the Manola pumphouse project.
Wierenga said other options include splitting the project into two phases: a visual assessment and wastewater sampling, to be completed sometime in 2025, and delaying the sludge survey until 2026.
"Overall, it will probably lead to higher costs due to inefficiencies, but it would allow us to meet our budget constraints," he said.
Another option Wierenga presented was to cancel the project outright for 2025 and reconsider it in other budget years.
Wierenga said public works recommends completing the project this year.
"All the other lagoons have been sounded and assessed, and the assessments allow for administration to plan and cost out facility maintenance properly, including desludging. That will cost thousands and is something that needs to be planned properly and not just sprung on," he said.
Wierenga added that a consolidated report of the municipality's wastewater infrastructure, requested by the council in 2022, could not be completed until the county assesses all of its assets.
He also noted the Manola lagoon assessment would include a chemical analysis of the sludge and wastewater," This could be very important if we ever have to do a release at the facility."
Wierenga said the report would also tell them if any of the solids from a 2022 line blockage made it into the Manola lagoon.
"Although the main wastewater line is now flushed every year to stop this happening again. We know that solids that have made it into the lagoon from the main line, but how much can only be determined by this study," he said.
Coun. Walter Preugschas asked if any industrial waste went into the lagoon.
Wirenga said yes, "Mostly solvents. As we understand it, the best comes from a boiler. That is one of the reasons why we want the project to go forward, is for that kind of analysis."
Reeve Doud Drozd supported the recommendation, noting in the long run, for the type of project, $10,000 "isn't that much."
Coun. Ron Kleifeldt agreed, saying the cost is unlikely to go down.
Capacity of the county's wastewater lagoons has been an ongoing issue. Before the construction of the new lagoon in Neerlandia, the municipality was carefully monitoring its capacity with a special eye on any new development. The Dunstable lagoon and the Thunder Lake lagoon have also been subject to restrictions or closures. Presently, both are open.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
