By Joel van der Veen

CRAIK — The Town of Craik has taken one more step towards restoring drinking water for local residents.

Councillors have approved a water treatment method, based on the results of pilot projects carried out at the water plant this summer.

Engineers are working on a detailed design proposal, according to a written update provided to ratepayers, and the town expects to begin seeking tenders for the project in December.

Mayor David Ashdown told the Leader last week that the town is making good progress on the matter, despite some delays and challenges.

“It’s taking a bit longer than personally I had hoped,” he said. “It’s certainly important that we do things right.”

The mayor said he was encouraged by the positive results shown from the pilot projects.

Ashdown said he was hopeful that safe drinking water would be available in Craik in the summer of 2018.

Once the town’s water is found to meet provincial standards, a three-month test period will follow to ensure that the treatment system can maintain that level of quality. Only once that’s finished will the boil water advisory be lifted.

“A certain level of caution” is needed, the mayor said, adding, “Once the advisory is off, I’d like it to be staying off.”

Craik has been under a boil water advisory since August 17, 2010 for “failing to meet minimum disinfection levels.”

The town has faced ongoing issues with a water plant constructed in 2009 by Mainstream Water Solutions, a Regina firm that has since filed for bankruptcy.

The update to ratepayers, prepared by Ashdown, states that restoring Craik’s drinking water “has been and continues to be the first priority” for the mayor and council.

Craik began working with engineers from KGS Group in 2015 to find and compare solutions to its water woes.

Their efforts received a couple of financial boosts starting last fall, when ratepayers voted in favour of directing the insurance payout from the Eco-Centre fire, roughly $380,000, towards the water fund.

At the time, the town estimated that the advisory could be lifted as early as November 2017, though various delays have pushed that prediction back.

A federal-provincial grant of more than $1.42 million for Craik, through the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, was announced in January 2017.

The additional funds opened up the possibility of finding a suitable ground water source for the town. An exploratory drilling program began early this year, but five test drills in various locations all came up negative.

As such Craik will continue drawing water from an intake at the Arm River dam east of town. Some modifications will be made to the intake to ensure “the cleanest water possible enters the treatment process.”

Mayor Ashdown said a reliable source of ground water would have been preferable, but ultimately wasn’t an option.

Two separate pilot projects began this past summer, for both biological filtration and conventional chemical filtration. Both pilots also included the subsequent use of membrane filtration.

After the pilot projects were completed in October, KGS engineers presented their report to council on Nov. 7. Since both pilots produced good results, council examined other factors in making its decision.

According to the report, the chemical option required less capital cost, but also meant high operating costs. It would also require the town to recruit and retain a Level 3 operator, and to devote more staff time.

Meanwhile, the biological option was more expensive to install, but had lower operating costs, would be easier to maintain and could be overseen by a Level 2 operator.

Town council ultimately went with the second option, since the grant money can be applied to capital costs but not operating costs. The reduced staffing requirement was also a factor.

A formal motion was approved at the Nov. 9 council meeting.

The plan is to install the biological filters and membrane system at the Mainstream water plant. The older water plant, dating back to the 1960s, will still be used for distribution.

Meanwhile, town council also passed a motion on Nov. 9 that the town request an extension to the deadline on the federal-provincial grant.

Currently the deadline is set at March 31, 2018. Council is hoping to have that extended to Nov. 1.

Given how the timeline of the project has changed over the past year, Mayor Ashdown said it seemed prudent to seek some extra time.

For instance, work on the intake at the dam will have to wait until conditions allow in the spring. Fortunately, much of the infrastructure, such as the plant buildings themselves, is already in place.