The price tag for Ucluelet’s water treatment system upgrades has doubled. During the Feb. 22 regular council meeting, Ucluelet’s director of engineering James Macintosh told council that the original $9.6 million estimate from 2020 was re-estimated in December 2021 at $20.7 million. Ucluelet’s water treatment and capacity upgrades include: improving the Lost Shoe Creek Wellfield with a filtration for manganese removal, improving the Mercantile Creek water source to include a filtration, and constructing a third reservoir near the Highway Reservoir to increase storage capacity.
Metro Vancouver Regional District cancels wastewater treatment plant deal after delays
The contract to build the new wastewater treatment plant in North Vancouver, B.C., will be terminated, according to the regional district in charge of the project, but the building company says it's still working on it. The head of the Metro Vancouver Regional District says it lost confidence in Acciona, the contractor company, after long construction delays and a rising price tag. Jerry Dobrovolny, chief administrative officer for the regional district, says the cost has risen double the original estimate of $500 million.
Lack of funding for piped water on First Nations in Sask. means some on reserves can’t drink from their taps
Rebecca Zagozewski, executive director with the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association, says cisterns can pose health risks to those who rely on them. She says the structures can have cracked lids, which allows all sorts of debris to get into them — including rats, mice, drowned puppies and garbage — and they’re often not cleaned properly. On top of that, she says the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association is concerned that there is no certification program for water truck drivers. The group wants to create such a program where drivers would have to be trained in how to keep the water safe and be held accountable if things go wrong. “Because right now there’s no accountability,” she says.
Halifax to probe problems around Williams Lake's falling water levels
Halifax’s vanishing Williams Lake could fill up again with a little help from the city, according to nearby residents. The water level had dropped by about 1.3 metres since late May when The Chronicle Herald featured one of the city’s favourite swimming lakes literally drying up on its front page in early September. But now a potential fix is being investigated for a dam that’s allowing water to flow too quickly to the sea.