The Okanagan Indian Band has completed a major upgrade to its water system. The Six Mile/Bradley Creek system has been improved by upgrading wells, expanding and updating the water treatment system, and doubling reservoir capacity. The system has also been connected to the band’s Irish Creek/Head of the Lake system, which received two new larger reservoirs and a control station. OKIB Public Works & Housing director Jolene Vincent says each reservoir has doubled its capacity, from 400 to 800 cubic square metres each. The community using the Six Mile system had been under a water advisory since May 2019 due to elevated manganese levels in its water. This meant it wasn't safe for pregnant women or children under two.
Saskatchewan water treatment plant first in Canada to use progressive design-build format
A planned major upgrade for south Saskatchewan’s Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant marks the first time in Canada that a progressive design-build format will be used in the construction of such a facility. “This format is more commonly used in the United States,” Buffalo Pound president and CEO Ryan Johnson points out. “Design-build presents inherent risks in terms of cost. Progressive design-build gives us more control over the outcome.”