By Adam Ophus

Increased Costs

Wastewater lagoon costs continue to rise

Aug 9, 2019 | 11:37 AM

Rocky Mountain House’s wastewater lagoon is continuing to cause trouble for the town.

A project planned to desludge the lagoon and add aeration upgrades was budgeted to cost $1.6 million. But after recent tender bids came in, the new cost will be $2.5 million.

“The sludge at the land spread because it has zinc content in it, so it has to be taken to a land fill,” Chief Administrative Officer Dean Krause explained.

Sludge survey detailed findings

Desludging represents over $1.5 million dollars of the overall cost of the project.

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Clearwater County council stated in July that they would assist with the project, but set a maximum limit they were willing to give as they were worried the project would continue to rise in cost.

“They viewed the desludging as an operational cost and not a capital cost, so they are not participating in those costs, the $106 thousand that we received from the County is there portion of the laterals that we’re putting in, and the blower bloc,” Krause reiterated to Rocky town council during Tuesdays meeting.

“We have another project out there right now that we’re expecting to be close to $400,000 under budget, so that should help to balance things out.”

Mayor Tammy Burke looked frustrated by said they really didn’t have any other option.

Council approved a revised budget of $2.1 million to undertake the lagoon aeration and desludging upgrades.