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Lethbridge officials say the community’s wastewater treatment plant is at risk of failing if it doesn’t get much-needed upgrades.
City staff presented the information to a council committee this month after a review of the facility identified key components as being in “very poor” condition.
“I knew it was bad, but this was maybe a little bit more of an eye-opener,” said councillor Al Beeber.
Joel Sanchez, director of infrastructure services, says the plant’s last major upgrade was more than 35 years ago. Now, more water coming from industrial sources is putting pressure on that aging infrastructure.
“If there is an event where the industry or main contributors send more than what they usually do, then we will be in trouble,” Sanchez said.
In the event of a failure, Sanchez said the city could see water restrictions and risks running short of regulatory standards.
He said his department is trying to be proactive and will present their plan to increase capacity and address the most immediate concerns at a future meeting.
According to city administration, the full suite of upgrades the facility needs could cost up to $350 million.
Joel Sanchez, director of infrastructure services with the City of Lethbridge, is pictured after presenting to council on April 16 about the state of the wastewater treatment plant. Sanchez said a recent report identified several key components of the plant as being in very poor condition. (Ose Irete/CBC)Plant already operating near capacity
While the plant’s capacity is listed as 50 million litres of water per day, according to city documents, the plant is realistically able to treat around 40 million litres per day.
Sanchez said the reduction is because of wastewater from industrial sources that can contain concentrated chemicals, organic matter and suspended solids.
“That makes the plant to slow down in order to be able to digest and to treat that material before it goes to the river,” he said.
Sanchez said right now, the plant has additional capacity, but it’s limited.
He said if it were to receive more than the regular inflow there could be issues, especially when coupled with the aging infrastructure.
Some of the components identified as very poor in the report include the electrical building and ultraviolet disinfection tank, which is a chemical-free way to treat microorganisms in water.
Sanchez said these parts don’t have backups in the event of a failure, which makes it important to start work as soon as possible.
“A planned upgrade or any process changes in the plant like this size, it typically takes somewhere between three to five years. So that’s why it’s critical that we start right now,” he said.
Project costs high
City staff have identified a first phase of upgrades that would increase capacity from 40 to 60 million litres per day and address the most immediate issues, like creating backups for key systems.
According to staff, the total cost of all the upgrades the plant needs could cost between $250 to $350 million.
“If we decided to move forward with approval, these capital expenditures would be one of the largest capital spends in City of Lethbridge history,” said Mitch Stevenson, the city’s financial planning and budget manager.
Stevenson said administration is looking at how exactly that cost could be covered.
Beeber said the city and its residents are already facing a lot of financial pressure.
“We know that people are really taxed out, their costs are going up, the cost of living is going up and people are hurting,” Beeber said.
The first-term councillor said upcoming deliberations about the city’s budget are going to be tough.
“Council is going to have some real hard decisions to make … but this wastewater treatment plant is huge … it’s number one priority,” he said.
Administration will come back to the committee May 13 with detailed plans for the first phase of upgrades and ideas about how to pay for the cost of the plant.