The Saskatchewan City of Moose Jaw is pursuing some $24 million in federal infrastructure funding to replace a 61-year-old lift station that lacks the capacity to adequately move local wastewater.
The city-wide wastewater collection is conveyed to the Crescent View lift station and then pumped to a grit building at the headworks of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, according to an Engineering Services Department report.
An existing septage receiving station just upstream of the Crescent View lift station does not provide the level of service required by the city. Issues include a history of overflow, lack of means to detect prohibited loads, lack of treatment, and lack of flow equalization, explained city officials.
In an assessment, AECOM has recommended that Moose Jaw replace the lift station to function as a WWTP headworks building, by equipping it to provide full-flow screening and grit removal.
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The lift station’s replacement cost is estimated to be $26.6 million.
“It’s been quite a while since I had a tour of the Crescent View lift station, but that was probably six or seven years ago, and at that point, it was certainly one piece of infrastructure we knew was coming up to be replaced,” Councillor Heather Eby said in support of the motion to seek funding. “It’s not a sexy or fun project to talk about, but it’s key.”
During storm events, the capacity of the current pipes is unable to handle flow levels, or surcharging. This lack of capacity leads to flooding of the grinder room during significant wet weather conditions, states a city report. The station also has limited space for system expansions to accommodate surcharging events.
AECOM suggested that a new design would allow for the anticipated flows associated with a wastewater collection system serving a population of 45,000 people, which is more than 10,000 above current population levels.
Moose Jaw is applying for funding under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).
The municipality is expecting to incur some demolition and remediation costs for the project, city council noted in recent discussions.
