Ground Breaking for New Construction in Weyburn

The Weyburn Water Treatment Facility was the location of a Ground Breaking Ceremony this morning.

Construction for the expansion of the reservoir has begun and will mean an improvement in the capacity and quality of water for Weyburn.

The ceremony was attended by provincial and municipal dignitaries.

The Honourable Dustin Duncan, Minister for the Environment and M.L.A for Weyburn Big Muddy, broke ground with Mayor Marcel Roy. Duncan said that this project is great news for Weyburn.

"Weyburn has grown significantly over the last eight to ten years but some of the infrastructure was getting stressed and wasn't really going to allow for continued growth for the city," said Duncan.

Duncan also said how the investment will allow for the expansion of the water reservoir which will allow the city to expand to over 22,000 people.

Mayor Roy thanked the Federal Government and Provincial Government for the financial support in this project, without whom this project wouldn't be possible.

"This project really puts Weyburn onto the path of sustainability and that's what we as a city council here want, to show a sustainable community. Weyburn will not go away, Weyburn will only grow and we want to make sure that we have a sustainable community."

Funding for the construction project came from the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component - National and Regional program. The Federal Government has given up to $5.3 million, around the same amount also given by the Saskatchewan Government.

The City of Weyburn is responsible for the remaining costs, which is expected to be for up to $15.9 million.

A presentation of the plans for the project was given by Omar Lopez, Waterways Water Manager for AECOM Regina Office. Lopez is the Project Manager, with his team, for the construction.

Lopez said they are adding 11 million liters of volume to the reservoir, which enables the city to also provide water to nearby communities if needed.

Lopez also said the project has been in the planning stages since 2011, which he has been a part of for the duration of the project.

Shabbir Sakrani, Manager of the water plant, said how the current reservoir has not been meeting the peak demand for Weyburn which is ten million litres during the summer. The current capacity of the reservoir is seven million litres. This is short of the Federal and Provincial regulations, There are supposed to be two times the capacity needed to make sure Weyburn has enough water for residents but also in case of an emergency including fire.

Sakrani said that the quality of Water in Weyburn is the best out of all the communities of a similar size. He added that the inclusion of a UV filtration system will improve the quality of the water even further.

The entire project is expected to be completed by December 2018.

Dustin Duncan, Minister of the Environment and MLA for Weyburn-Big Muddy gives the first speech at the ceremony.                               

Mayor Marcel Roy gives his speech as part of the breaking ground ceremony.