WESTLOCK — The Westlock Regional Water Services Commission (WRWSC) will get $1,525,763 million from the province for “critical” infrastructure upgrades at the Westlock Water Treatment Plant.
Fifty-three projects approved for 2023 will receive $142.1 million with 47 projects receiving about $114.5 million through Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership (AMWWP) and six projects receiving about $27.6 million under the Water for Life (WFL) program, the latter which includes Westlock. The AMWWP and WFL programs provide cost-shared funding to municipalities to assist in the construction of high-priority municipal water supply and treatment facilities, as well as wastewater treatment and disposal facilities.
“Our government continues to invest in critical infrastructure throughout the province, recognizing the need for clean water,” said Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken. “This money will help the commission to ensure this region is served with clean drinking water.
“The department will continue to prioritize projects that they deemed a high-priority need and continue to evaluate that on an ongoing basis. It’s a good working relationship we have and an important part of ensuring that Alberta continues to stay sustainable long-term.”
Last year, the three members of the WRWSC — the Town of Westlock, Westlock County and the Village of Clyde — received funding through the Alberta Community Partnership Program to conduct a detailed assessment of the Westlock Water Treatment Plant. The grant covered the cost of the assessment, and a report was finalized in late 2022, which identified several areas requiring upgrading, some which were critical. Last November the commission applied for funding under the Water for Life program and was approved for funding at the end of April.
“We’re very pleased that we received this funding from the province, through the Water For Life program,” said WRWSC chair Curtis Snell. “I really think the primary objective behind this project was to make sure the commission could provide our customers, the town, county and village and by extension, the residents with reliable, safe water for the long-term.”
The total cost for the upgrades, which includes six major areas is $2,934,000.00. The provincial grant covers about 52 per cent of the project, while the remaining 48 per cent will be funded through the commission’s reserves and debenture borrowing. Those six areas that will see upgrades include supervisory control and data acquisition system and PLC upgrades (computerized monitoring system), a clarifier upgrade, filter media upgrades, backwash flow and pressure control upgrades, chlorine dosing system upgrades and a pH adjustment upgrade.
The WRWSC was established in 2008 with its three members and provides water to the town, county and village and owns and operates a river intake, three raw water reservoirs, a water treatment plant, three booster stations and approximately 90 kilometres of waterline. A regional services commission is a corporation where two or more municipalities jointly deliver a service to residents, which typically include water, wastewater (sewer) and solid waste (garbage).
Commission manager Deb Hamilton said money was spent on several upgrades to the water treatment plant between 2010-2012 but not much has been done since.
“At that time when they built on, all of that equipment was new but there was very little upgrades to the existing treatment plant — their existing clarifier was built approximately in 1986 so there’s a great need, it’s overdue,” she said. “In fact, it’s beyond its life expectancy so it is critical and it’s a huge component.”
Many of the upgrades and replacements pertain to treating and cleaning water so that it’s safe for human consumption, Hamilton explained, noting that water is sourced from the Pembina River and dumped into raw water reservoirs. From there it is pumped to the water treatment plant via a large waterline and once the water is treated and cleaned it goes into the town’s reservoir before it is drawn for the distribution system, which delivers clean water to residents.
“At Pibroch, Pickardville, Busby, Fawcett, Jarvie, Dapp and Vimy, they each have their own reservoirs and we dump (clean water) into there and they pump it into their hamlets. The same with Clyde,” said Hamilton, noting testing is done at each of the locations to meet Alberta Environment requirements. “(The upgrades) are needed to ensure we can continue with the safe and potable drinking water that we do supply.”
