A section of the Town of Olds sewage lagoons in Mountain View County will be designated for the town's emergency storage as part of the new regional wastewater system, the county has agreed in a letter of understanding with the South Red Deer Regional Wastewater Commission.The agreement, however, meets three conditions set by the county:ï The emergency storage area will be sized to handle three days' capacity while operating as a functional engineered wetlands.ï The portion of the existing lagoon property not used for the SRDRWC engineered wetlands will remain under town ownership and responsibility to maintain or reclaim.ï The sewage line from the Olds wastewater treatment plant to the lagoon site will be replaced, with the commission paying 10 per cent and the province 90 per cent under the Water For Life Strategy funding formula. ìThis pipeline has broke and leaked six times so far this spring, which creates a nuisance for the rural residents in the vicinity of the pipeline,î says a report from MVC administration.The town lagoons are situated about four miles northwest of Olds, at Rge. Rd. 22 and Twp. Rd. 334.County council approved the letter of understanding on June 22.Div. 7 Coun. Al Kemmere said he initially had reservations about the proposal but the final agreement ìaddresses a lot of my concerns,î he added.Reeve Paddy Munro said the replacement of the line from Olds was a critical issue, as the six line breaks so far this year ìcovered 20 acres in sewageî and ìhad a major environmental impact.îThe agreement means the regional wastewater commission can move forward with a detailed design for the Olds lift station and meet its Sept. 1 deadline to award the construction tender, commission CAO Dale Withage said last week.The emergency storage capability is needed ìif for some reason the system goes down,î Withage said.ìOur biggest fear is if the line breaks between Bowden and Olds.îAlso part of the $107-million project, a new lift station is under construction in Innisfail, with completion slated for the fall, and a new pipeline will be laid between Innisfail and Bowden during the fall and winter, Withage said.The Bowden-to-Olds leg of the wastewater line is scheduled for spring 2012 construction and the Bowden lift station will go out for tender and construction in 2012, he said.
