Some of the City of Powell River’s treatment plant equipment reserve fund money will be used for necessary repairs and maintenance.
At council’s first meeting since the November civic election, councillors reviewed a request from Tor Birtig, director of infrastructure, to invest in maintaining the current level of wastewater treatment, at the Westview wastewater treatment plant, until a new liquid waste management treatment plant comes online.
Councillor Karen Skadsheim introduced the recommendation from Birtig that suggested the city’s chief financial officer be authorized to approve spending from the treatment plant equipment reserve fund for maintenance and repairs not to exceed $100,000. There is currently close to $1 million in the equipment reserve fund.
Skadsheim said the purpose of this expenditure is that the membranes in the plant require replacement and to date the city has not used any of the equipment reserve funds for the replacement.
Councillor Jim Palm said there have been questions raised in the past regarding replacement of the membranes. “From all accounts we are doing our due diligence on the replacement side,” he said. “The facility is aging. A lot of the funds that are to be directed are to maintain that facility and keep it operational. It will be the membranes and other components of it that are getting long in the tooth. Hopefully it will live on until we get a new plant.”
According to Birtig’s report, during the past 16 years, since it was retrofitted in 1998, Powell River’s wastewater treatment plant has been maintained from the city’s annual budget for operations and maintenance.
“Current maintenance requirements, however, will exceed this budget,” Birtig wrote. “Treatment plant staff identified equipment in need of repair or replacement, such as air compressors, transfer switches, recirculation pumps, and sludge press maintenance.”
City staff estimated cost of current maintenance requirements to be approximately $75,000. Birtig stated that if other issues are found, or economies of concurrent maintenance are identified, this amount could increase.
Council unanimously supported the recommendation.
