Prince Albert is looking to determine what its water treatment plant could handle if an unexpected contaminant entered the North Saskatchewan River.
Executive Committee backed a $44,185 contamination removal study Monday that will examine what the plant can effectively remove, what it can only partially remove and what its existing treatment system may not be able to handle. KGS Group is recommended to carry out the work.
Acting Public Works Director Tim Earing said the study is intended as a planning and risk mitigation tool, particularly in the event of an upstream spill or another unexpected contaminant entering the City’s source water.
“The final report will categorize contaminants that are effectively removed, partially removed, or that we can’t remove,” Earing told council. “So it’s a risk mitigation tool for us.”
The study arrives while Prince Albert continues to deal with complaints about discoloured water and changes in taste and odour, but it is not intended to resolve those concerns.
The City’s report says the study is focused on contaminants outside the range normally handled by the plant, including emerging contaminants and those that could enter the North Saskatchewan River during an upstream spill or other source-water contamination event.
The City’s existing treatment process includes powdered activated carbon for taste and odour control. Earing told council at its Aug. 24 meeting that the City has been using carbon and spending more on the treatment material than in a normal year, but said the plant has not been able to completely remove the smell under this year’s conditions.
Acting Public Works Director Tim Earing speaks during Monday’s Executive Committee meeting about a proposed study of the Water Treatment Plant’s ability to handle unexpected contaminants.
The City has also increased testing, met with the Water Security Agency and is working through five additional precautionary measures requested by the agency. At the Aug. 24 meeting, Earing said turbidity in the river had been running roughly five to 10 times normal levels.
Coun. Darren Solomon raised the timing of the new study Monday and questioned when the request for proposals had gone out.
After checking with Water Treatment Plant Manager Rinkesh Patil, who was at the meeting to assist with technical questions, Earing said the tender was issued early in the spring.
Solomon said that meant the study was not launched in response to the current water situation.
“You’re absolutely correct,” Earing said. “This was something that was planned far in advance of current situation today.”
The 2016 Husky oil spill remains an example of the type of event the City wants to be better prepared for.
The Water Security Agency ordered Prince Albert’s raw water intake shut down following the spill, forcing the City to secure alternate water sources and construct temporary infrastructure. According to the City’s report, the response generated more than $10 million in direct costs, although those costs were covered by the owner of the upstream pipeline.
Earing said the new assessment is intended to establish what options the City would have if something similar happened again.
“If we ever had a spill in the North Saskatchewan River again, like the Husky spill, would we be able to treat that water?” he said. “Would we have the ability to treat something that was more of a disaster type thing, or something that we don’t know today that contaminated the water?”
Prince Albert has been working with Saskatoon and the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant, both of which have completed similar contaminant removal assessments. Once Prince Albert’s work is complete, the group plans to engage provincial regulators on emergency response planning and the treatment capabilities of each facility.
The cost of the Prince Albert study came in substantially higher than first expected.
The City had originally budgeted $13,000 based on information from Saskatoon and Buffalo Pound. Earing said the competitive process produced an actual market price of about $39,000.
“This did take us a little off guard,” he said.
Earing said Prince Albert’s circumstances are not identical to those of the other plants and some costs quoted by regional partners may have been included as part of other engineering work.
KGS Group’s contract is valued at $39,185.11, with another $5,000 set aside for possible additional technical work or clarification. The additional cost can be covered within the existing Utilities operating budget, with no new funding source required.
Coun. Tony Head questioned why an assessment of that kind had not already been completed following the Husky spill or construction of the City’s raw water intake.
He also raised the ongoing taste, odour and discolouration concerns and questioned language in the report stating that the plant is designed to treat seasonal changes in source-water quality.
Earing said the study is meant to prepare the City for contaminants outside the situations it already deals with through its existing treatment process.
Head also asked when council would receive answers to a series of water-related inquiries raised at the previous meeting.
City Manager Craig Guidinger said administration already has much of the requested information and expects to provide it soon.
“I feel like we can get you that information in a timely fashion,” Guidinger said.
Head moved the recommendation, which carried.
Meanwhile, the City continues to deal with complaints about the taste and odour of tap water. The City has attributed the problem to unusual conditions in the North Saskatchewan River, with Earing saying turbidity has been running roughly five to 10 times normal levels. He said the plant is using carbon to help control the smell, but has not been able to remove it completely under the current conditions. The City says the water continues to meet regulatory requirements and has increased testing while working through five additional precautionary measures requested by the Water Security Agency.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
