WATCH ABOVE: Transaqua has announced that is has awarded three engineering contracts as part of its larger plan to upgrade the Greater Moncton Wastewater Plant. Global’s Alex Abdelwahab reports.
MONCTON – TransAqua announced Tuesday that it has awarded three engineering contracts as part of its long-term wastewater plant upgrade.
In a statement, Chair Winston Pearce called the contracts “a good start” on moving forward with the plan.
The three contracts are worth $223,451 and were awarded to companies in the Greater Moncton area.
They include just under $100,000 in software and hardware upgrades that will allow TransAqua to integrate new wastewater treatment equipment into its existing computer control systems.
They also include work to replace part of the collector sewer system in the Jonathan Creek area of Moncton as part of a project by the City of Moncton, CN Rail and the provincial government to reduce flooding in the area.
TransAqua, the Greater Moncton Wastewater Commission, is jointly-owned by Dieppe, Moncton and Riverview to manage the wastewater collection and treatment needs of the area.
It is in the process of a facility overhaul to meet recently introduced mandatory federal regulations by the 2020 deadline.
The Greater Moncton Wastewater Commission only has primary treatment facilities, meaning the effluent that they put out into the Petitcodiac River is only about 75 per cent pure.
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It is the only facility in the province without secondary treatment facilities. The upgrades would boost their output to 97 per cent pure, at a cost of $80 million.
“The decision for P3 has been taken off the table recently, so our first priority and goal is to pursue other levels of funding so we can get this project moving,” said general manager Kevin Rice.
Instead, they are hoping for Build Canada funding, which would split the cost three-ways between Ottawa, the province, and the commission.
“The community is growing at such a rapid rate, you know, it’s one of the fastest growing communities in the country,” Rice said. “We have to be prepared to meet those wastewater needs.”
Paul Belliveau, president of the board of directors for the Petitcodiac Riverkeepers applauded the commission for moving forward on smaller projects that will tie into the larger capital investment.
He said the upgrades are an important part of cleaning the Petitcodiac, and his group is concerned about the impact on fish.
“We’re five years away. It’s not a project that’s going to take a couple of months to actually complete either,” he said. “Our understanding is TransAqua has a process and is ready to implement it but what they need of course is the funding.”
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