The City of Castlegar will borrow close to $1 million to get a head start on improvements to the south sewage treatment plant, which has been plagued with problems in recent years.
The city plans to bring one of the plant’s two bioreactors back online. It has been out of commission since 2008. The city says that will improve flow through the system and give operators more breathing room to meet permit requirements and protect the Columbia River from accidental spills of undertreated sewage.
A construction management contract was awarded last March to Chandos Construction LP, valued at over $6.8 million. Staff say while design work has already started, the loan will let them order equipment with long lead times for delivery.
The project will require further borrowing that will be subject to a counterpetition, but the city says that process could take up to six months. To get going, council last week approved the interim borrowing, to be repaid in five years.
The city’s long-term sewage plan calls for the city’s two sewage plants to be consolidated at the north-end site at a cost of up to $82 million, but that could be up to 15 years away.
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