WESTLOCK - Starting next week, the Town of Westlock’s bulk water station will be closed for at least three months due to the ongoing, two-year $7.3 million 108th Street reconstruction project.
In an Aug. 6 news release the town says the “unplanned prolonged interruption” will start Aug. 18 and last until November. CAO Simone Wiley said the bulk water station interruption was initially expected to only last for a few hours “so this shift from hours to months is disappointing.”
“Originally we were planning for one or two days of maybe a five-hour shutdown while they got through that area. But they’ve found that some of the information isn’t quite correct in what was actually under the ground in that location and so they’re unable to keep the bulk water station going while they continue on,” said Wiley Aug. 6.
The town is working on providing a temporary fill location at its public works shop and Wiley said it should be up and running within two weeks following the Aug. 18 closure. As well, the town noted there are alternate local bulk water facilities in the hamlets of Vimy and Dapp.
“There are certain times of year where there are more county residents (using the facility) like in the spring for agricultural use. But we still get RVs using it to fill up and a lot of acreage users,” said Wiley.
Work on 108th progressing
Crews continue to push forward on the 108th Street project and Wiley said they’re working with the general contractor on the timeline for completion.
In the spring it was hoped the project could be done by the fall, but the hydrocarbon containment from an old fuel site slowed work.
The road is receiving a fresh asphalt overlay, new curbs, gutters and sidewalks, as well as a new storm sewer line, sanitary sewer line and sanitary water line. Before work started, Knelsen Sand & Gravel senior construction manager Darrell Quist said that weather would determine if it could be finished this year, or carried over to 2022 as they had allocated their season to it and are on site six days a week.
“Now that they’re through the contaminated section it was going better. But we’re still working with the general contractor on the timeline to make sure that they’re going to be done before the snow flies,” said Wiley.
“There has to be a breakpoint to determine if they’re going to finish the whole thing, or when do you stop and carry it over to next year? We don’t quite know the answer to that yet.”
Operations crews were also busy in the Whissellville area last week with waterline repairs - water was temporarily shut off along 109th Street from 99 to 97 Avenue for the work.
“That leak was a service-valve leak and was not related to construction on 108th,” Wiley added.
Final bill to Imperial?
Wiley said they’re still working on the final remediation bill they’ll send to Imperial Oil, the corporate owners of the decommissioned bulk fuel station blamed for “heavy concentrations of hydrocarbons” found during the project.
At their final meeting in June, town councillors voted unanimously to amend the municipality’s 2021 capital budget, adding $1.6 million for remediation costs for the stretch — the town is fronting the clean-up bill and has invoiced Imperial Oil close to $800,000 so far. Contaminated soil has been removed from the roadway, while a plastic liner has been installed underground to contain any further seepage from the site.
“I don’t have a final bill, I’ve sent them a progress (report), if you will, just so we weren’t waiting until the end to send them everything,” said Wiley. “So we’re still answering some questions and there’s been some back and forth with them. They’re still engaging, which is good, and asking for some justifications on the invoices.”
The former bulk fuel facility, which was decommissioned in 1987, was located on a 300-by-94-foot lot on the southern side of 108th Street in Whissellville, about two lots west of where 98th Avenue begins. The site included an office, tanks and a warehouse and Imperial eventually bought the land in 1997 after previously leasing it. The north side of 108th Street, heading east from 97th Avenue to 98th Avenue, includes an apartment building, plus the backyards of homes, while the CN Rail line runs parallel to the entire length of 108th Street.
Alberta Environment and Parks has previously stated that contamination limits have been defined on the north side of the roadway and “are not expected to cause concern or issue to nearby residential properties” and that they’ll “work with Imperial Oil to ensure the contamination is appropriately managed until remediated.”
Imperial has stated it doesn’t have a timetable for reclaiming the old bulk fuel site and as for specifics on what was found in the soil, neither AEP, or Imperial has elaborated further, with an Imperial spokesperson saying their consultants sampled the ground within the utility corridor in proximity to their property and “any soil that did not meet Alberta’s standard was disposed of at an approved disposal facility at Imperial’s cost.”
While a 2018 groundwater monitoring and sampling report provided by AEP noted elevated levels of Benzene at at least two groundwater sampling bore holes on Imperial’s land, Imperial has stated that since the site is vacant they have “no concerns related to benzene on the property.” According to the same report other chemicals tested for and found on and around the site within acceptable AEP limits included toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes.
