A budget increase of several million dollars to upgrade and replace the Queens Way lift station passed its first hurdle at council on Tuesday.
At a regular business meeting on June 20, District of Squamish council unanimously approved the first three readings for a budget increase of $4.136 million to the Queens Way lift station replacement project. Adding that to the original estimated cost of $2 million, the repair project is now estimated to cost $6.136 million.
While the next step is final adoption, the vast majority of items that pass the first three readings go on to be approved.
Jesse Morwood, capital projects manager with the District, told council that the ongoing replacement had discovered other issues that were previously unforeseen such as damage to the gravity sewer and corrosion from hydrogen sulfide to the wet well.
“This project seems to me to be comparable to renovating a really old home where you pull one wall down and unexpectedly find asbestos,” said Coun. John French.
Other issues relating to the rise in cost include conflicting underground infrastructure from BC Hydro and Telus, thus adding a longer timeline to the project.
The Queens Way lift station failed on Jan. 14 due to previous degradation of the manhole, with weather being somewhat of a contributing factor.
"The problem is the manhole itself was deteriorating, and the side of it gave out,” Devin Kiyonaga, a municipal engineer, said in a previous interview with The Squamish Chief. “And then debris entered the manhole and clogged the pipe at that point."
At the council meeting, Morwood said both the manhole degradation and wet well corrosion were “premature,” although the District had known the lift station needed replacement.
“This manhole was identified in our lift station assessment report, which would call for its replacement,” said Sarah Bailie, director of engineering with the District. “It was budget constraints that didn't allow the project to proceed initially.”
Bailie said, at this time, they did not see other situations like this issue.
Overall, Morwood predicted the work to be completed by “this fall or winter,” with the expectation that the new manhole installed should last about 50 years and the wet well estimated to last between 25 and 50 years — though the District awaits the final wet well lifespan estimation.
Morwood noted that they have excavated as far down as needed, which is approximately six to seven metres deep. Excavation has led to the “dewatering” of the project area, which essentially is pumping out water. The pump to do so is partially visible from the road and operates around the clock.
Funding from wastewater reserve
The funding for the project is coming from the wastewater reserve.
“Now, we are projecting the wastewater reserve will have a balance of approximately $6 million reflecting the additional $4 million being reduced from the reserve to pay for this project,” Rolland Russell, senior financial analyst, told council.
For context, Russell said that an average of $2 to $3 million had been added annually to the wastewater reserve over the last few years, with some withdrawals from the fund.
Council was informed that taxpayers could expect an increase in utility bills, although the increases were already planned for next year.
“We had maintained the sewer rate at the level that it is now for both [2022] and [2023], but we were anticipating resuming increases in wastewater utility rates commencing in 2024,” said Russell. “And we anticipate that we will continue on with that program.”
French commented that although he first experienced “sticker shock” after seeing the cost, the information provided reassured him going ahead.
“I believe that excellent work has been done on this project, and this is what it's going to take to rebuild the infrastructure,” he said.
“This is a big lesson learned, as we go into the 2024 budget,” said Coun. Jenna Stoner, who added she would be looking out for how they would replenish the wastewater reserve after a “significant” withdrawal in that budget.
Mayor Armand Hurford questioned whether the total amount held in the reserve needed to be revisited.
“This is a big project, and this is a draw that represents a large percentage of that [reserve],” he said.
Having passed the first three readings on June 20, this will be up for adoption at a later council meeting. To view the council meeting in full, visit the District of Squamish’s YouTube page.
