By Geoff Smith

N.B. council approves three steps for water supply

Aug 2, 2016 | 5:00 PM

The city of North Battleford has unveiled a 12-month plan to ensure a sufficient long-term supply of water, following the contamination of the North Saskatchewan River last month.

The three prongs approved by city council at a special meeting Tuesday, Aug. 2, involve the pipe that’s been built to the town of Battleford, construction of four additional wells, and a filtration system to remove oil from river water so it can once again be treated.

The total cost of the three initiatives is estimated to be approximately $6 million. David Gillan, the city’s director of financial services, said he’s confident the money can be recovered in its entirety from Husky and its insurance providers.

“They’ve only indicated to me that they’re completely responsible for this, and that they will make it right,” Gillan said. He expected an initial outlay of $3 million in the first couple of months and as much as $9 million for a 12-month event.

Aside from the re-opening of laundromats on July 29, restrictions remained in place Tuesday. It was expected to be the end of the week before the water pipe from Battleford was tested to ensure the treated water was safe to add to the system. It will replace roughly one-third of the water normally supplied from the river.

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An overland pipe was built across Finlayson Island and the two old bridges on either side. Its installation has meant the closure of vehicle traffic to the island from Battleford.

Mayor Ian Hamilton praised the efforts of everyone involved, and the steps that were taken quickly to ensure an adequate water supply that was free of contamination.

“Quick action, good information, the information that was provided to us allowed us to go into proactive mode and prevent the introduction of any contaminated water into our system,” Hamilton said. “That would have been quite a different story we’d be talking about right now, if that had happened.”

During the meeting there was some discussion about the state of the 10 existing wells that provide ground water to Treatment Plant Number One. Director of Operations Stewart Schafer said those ten wells are being pumped quite heavily, and are producing roughly 200 cubic metres of water each hour. The four new wells will bring that to around 300 cubic metres, and replace another third of the Holliday plant’s capacity.

The aquifer that supplies the wells is, in fact, fed by the North Saskatchewan River. But Schafer explained the water is naturally filtered through a bed of sand.

The city still needs additional approvals before it can install the filtration system to pre-treat water, and restart the F.E. Holliday plant. The plan is to have it running by the end of September. Gillan, whose duties include managing the Emergency Operations Centre activated soon after the oil spill, said there are technical challenges to the filter system but he does not believe they are insurmountable.

The system is a product of General Electric Water Systems, which Gillan says has been working “feverishly” to come up with a double-pass filter system appropriate for the conditions, to reduce the hydrocarbon content to zero, or very close to it, before it goes into the F.E. Holliday plant. He said the goal was to ensure a reliable supply of water from diverse sources.

The cost breakdown provided to council is: $1,914,640 (estimated) to buy water from Battleford; $1,842,000 to drill the new wells; and $2,375,440 to add a filter. The city also plans to hire one more plant operator and another community safety officer to ensure sufficient security. Costs also include a reduction in revenue, from the reduced water usage.

Hamilton said the government agencies involved along with Husky had been cooperative.

“Speaking from my perspective, I’ve had good communication with all stakeholders in this area. So I’ve had daily contact with some representative of Husky, whether it be the CEO or the director of governmental affairs,” Hamilton said. He added he also spoke with the premiers and ministers of the environment and government relations.

Geoff Smith is battlefordsNOW’s News Director, business and agriculture reporter. He can be reached at gsmith@jpbg.ca or tweet him @smithco.