Balmoral lift station on since June
A second new sewage station is getting close and a third has broken ground at the river
Work continues at the sites of two major sewer projects in Medicine Hat months after stated completion dates, though utility officials say construction is winding up and one is already in operation.
The Balmoral and Purmal sewage lift stations were taken off line during the 2013 flood, and last year the 60-year-old pumping stations were slated to be rebuilt to higher elevations.
The $8.13-million contract to build both stations — which each reach three storeys underground — was awarded to contractor Tritech and work began in April of 2016.
This week, new trenching is visible at the Balmoral Station, visible from the Fifth Street crossing of the Lions Park berm, though the original completion date was two months ago.
City officials say that work involves a backup line and all the work is basically complete.
“Balmoral has been operating since June, and we’ve taken over the day-to-day operations of it,” environmental utilities general manager Grayson Mauch said.
“Construction is continuing on the outside stuff — brick work, civil (engineering features like site grading) and landscaping — but it’s functioning.
“The Purmal Station is right on the verge of commissioning in the coming weeks. We’ll take possession while the contractor finishes up outside.”
Together the two stations handle waste from the majority of homes in Medicine Hat’s south side. The lines join further along toward the sewer treatment plant across the river from Ranchlands.
Mauch said a complicated construction season over the last year can be blamed for some of the general delay.
Some work at Purmal, near the Ross Creek confluence with the South Saskatchewan, could continue over the winter.
A replacement of the city’s third station on the river, the Crescent Heights station, is underway and should be complete by June 2018, said Mauch.
In April, Calgary firm, Westpro-Pomerleau, was awarded the $7.8-million contract to build a new station below the Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club, as well as increase capacity of piping in the area.