SUNDRE — Following a delay that was attributed to global supply chain issues, construction of the new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment project is expected to get started as soon as the ground thaws.
“We were actually hoping to have it finished by Christmas. But with the material shortage and COVID and everything else, it just became too hard,” said Darrell Behan, chief executive officer of SoneeraWater.
“It was a long wait time on some of the raw materials” as well as parts that were needed, including for example valves and heat trace piping," Behan said on Wednesday, Feb. 23 during an interview.
Behan told the Albertan that his company, in consultation with the municipality, ended up agreeing to wait until this year’s construction season to get started to ensure all of the required material and equipment would be available.
That way, instead of breaking ground late last summer only to leave throughout the winter an incomplete structure that required heating until the work could resume, the decision was made to hold off until supplies could be expected to arrive on time to facilitate a more consistent and speedy construction process, he said.
“As soon as the ground thaws, which will be some time in March, we’ll start the footings, the slab, the shed, and then we’ll do the outside infrastructure and then the heavy equipment arrives,” he said.
Asked whether there were any particular items in short supply that caused the delay, he said, “There was no one bit of equipment that held us up. It was a combination of a lot of stuff — stuff you could normally buy straight off the shelf.”
That might include a range of materials from raw resources like steel that manufacturers need, to shelf-ready products such as heat trace pipes and valves, he said.
“COVID has slowed up everything,” he said.
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As for where the company is sourcing materials and equipment from, he said, “90 per cent of our stuff is manufactured here in Canada.”
One major piece — a large water sludge drier — is coming from China, he added.
But by and large, most everything else SoneeraWater is ordering is made in Canada, he said, adding his company strives to source as close to home as possible.
Meanwhile, the wrinkles in the supply chain slowly but surely seem to be getting ironed out.
“The world’s getting back on track,” he said. “Even the suppliers, their supply chain is catching up…the supply chain is coming back to normal.”
And despite the hurdles to date, Behan sounded optimistic about the path forward and expressed confidence that the project will be operational and ready to begin testing this summer.
“We’ve got all the equipment and infrastructure lined up,” he said, adding it’s largely just a matter of waiting for the ground to thaw so work can get underway.
The municipality recently issued a statement confirming the project is “now back on track and is projected to be fully constructed and ready for testing by July.”
The upgrade, which will enhance but not replace the town’s existing traditional sewage lagoon system that involves holding cells, features breaking-edge technology known as electroflocculation, a process that involves using electrochemical induction to separate waste from water far more efficiently.
Last summer, the Alberta government announced $7.5 million to fund the project, which has been made possible through a collaborative effort among technology partners, the municipality and the provincial government.
“This innovative technology will be provided through technology partners, who are providing the technology that will be tested for a one-year period to satisfy the requirements of short-term testing of an advanced wastewater treatment pilot plant” authorized under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act by Alberta Environment and Parks, reads a portion of the municipality’s statement.
“Sundre residents will benefit from substantially lower capital costs than originally anticipated, increased capacity to allow the town to continue to grow, and increased water quality to ensure downstream users continue to receive high quality water.”
Additionally, the municipality said Mountain View County as well as Clearwater County residents stand to benefit, as the increased capacity will enable Sundre to continue taking in wastewater from areas outside the town’s boundaries. Without the upgrade, outside users might have ended up being forced to find alternative sites to accommodate wastewater disposal.
Although there are no other facilities like it in the province, the technology has been successfully trialled in the small Saskatchewan town of Unity.
