Council approves major wastewater treatment plant upgrades
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 19, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
City council on Tuesday has given second and third readings to a multitude of bylaws.
The bylaws council dealt with included several to borrow water for water treatment plant work.
One of those calls is for the city to borrow $6,418,000 for medium voltage upgrades. The total cost of the project cited in the 2022-2031 Capital Improvement Program is listed at $7.5 million.
This project includes replacement of assets that are at the end of their lifecycle and construction of new assets to improve the reliability of the power supply to the plant and equipment within it.
It’s not expected this project will have an impact on utility rates within the next four years.
The first reading of the bylaw was given on Nov. 30.
Council also gave second and third readings to a bylaw to borrow $2,946,000 for biosolids treatment upgrades at the water plant. This project has a total cost of $5.8 million.
The project would involve the replacement and upgrading of assets at the end of their lifecycles to increase and improve performance of the biosolids treatment process, which the City says is “a critical process for the Lethbridge Wastewater Treatment Plant to meet regulatory effluent requirements set by Alberta Environment and Parks.”
Not completing the upgrades could cause a failure of biosolids thickening systems and the inability of the treatment plant to meet effluent requirements.
Council also approved a bylaw calling for the borrowing of $3.4 million for an upgrade to the treatment plant bioreactor aeration blowers. These blowers are also critical for the plant to meet regulatory effluent requirements.
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Sure hope they aren’t “upgrading” to wind and solar. Increasingly known as “The Unreliable’s”.