Sewer and wastewater have become top priorities for Turner Valley in the Town’s attempt to keep up with aging infrastructure.
Turner Valley town council approved the Town’s new 20-year infrastructure management plan in February, which puts replacing the sewer and wastewater mains along four and a half blocks of Windsor Avenue at the top of the list.
“They are beyond their usable life and we want to prevent health-related issues due to leakage,” said Barry Williamson, chief administrative officer. “They are at the point they need to be replaced. We are probably a little bit behind on the sewer line replacements.”
The estimated $2 million project is expected to commence this year and continue into 2018.
Williamson said some of the Town’s older sewer lines are made from clay and range in age from 30 to 40 years.
Next on the list is the sewer and wastewater mains along Gooding Lane from Edgar Avenue to Sunset Boulevard in 2017 and then the sanitary mains along Frontenac Avenue in 2019, said Williamson.
“Some of these might change depending on what comes up from a grant point of view or a particular line developing problems,” he said. “We base these replacements on the age of the line, but you can certainly have a problem with the line that in year three moves to year two.”
Williamson said the cost of the projects depend on what the Town receives in grant money, if any, for each project.
“We look at it and say, ‘What is the cost of the project? What are some of the possible reserves or grants we can go to?’” he said.
“Almost all require some contribution from a local improvement tax – generally it’s 10 per cent of the project. We try to minimize how much by getting grant money.”
Williamson said if the project costs $2 million and is approved for $1.5 million in grant funding, it would bring the cost down significantly for taxpayers.
“Generally you don’t see (homeowners paying) more than $10 to $20 a month for 20 years,” he said. “Some people are only paying $5 (a month). It depends on how big the project was.”
Williamson said updating the Town’s infrastructure management plan was long overdue.
The last plan was developed in 2002 and updated in 2008, he said.
“It’s a critical plan that every town should have in place and we are glad to have it completed,” he said.
Williamson said the wastewater and sewer mains took a back seat while the Town focused its efforts on finding adequate water sources and upgrading its water treatment plant to service Turner Valley and Black Diamond after Black Diamond’s water treatment plant was washed away in the 2013 flood.
“We have done so much work both on not only the treatment and processing of water, but also in terms of distribution infrastructure,” he said. “We’ve done a very good job as a town to upgrade and replace our water mains.”
In addition to repairing wastewater and sewer lines, Williamson said the streets they are working on will be repaved during the process.
“Our policy is if a road needs to be done it’s best to do the road, sanitary and water line at the same time,” he said.
Williamson said the Town’s infrastructure management plan also covers areas of treated water storage and distribution, storm-water drainage plants, wastewater collection, treatment and disposal, transportation and recreation.
In addition to identifying priority projects, the plan also explores an offsite levy review to plan for funding projects down the road, he said.
“Often some of these replacements include local improvement taxes,” he said.
“If there is an expansion or upgrade to the water treatment plant or wastewater treatment plant there is a share of that the Town has to pick up, but there is also a portion that goes into offsite levy reserve and is used in the future to contribute to some of these upgrades.”
During a presentation to council at its March 16 meeting, Greg Sentis, project manager with MPE Engineering, said tenders for the Windsor Avenue project are closing and he expects the cost will be less than the original estimation of $2.2 million due to the current economic situation.
“More contractors are bidding on projects so I estimate the dollar value is coming in a lot less,” he said.
