Wastewater spills embattle North Battleford

North Battleford in Saskatchewan has been fined $80,000 in provincial court for sewage spills that occurred in 2003. The court also ordered the town to make sure that its new wastewater treatment plant is operating by November 2005, or the town will face a $25,000 fine for every month delay.<br>
Stantec of Saskatoon, Regina and Calgary is designing the new wastewater treatment plant. Under construction, it is on a greenfield site, will use ultraviolet disinfection and will process around 1.5 million gallons of sewage a day.<br>
Happily, the new sewage treatment facility is downstream from the water supply plant, whereas the old sewage treatment plant was upstream and is believed to have caused some of the town’s drinking water problems.<br>
In 2001, North Battleford hit the national news when cryptosporidium entered the water system and hundreds of people in the town fell ill. The problem occurred shortly after the Walkerton tragedy in Ontario when people across Canada were acutely concerned about the health of their water supply. A public enquiry was ordered into both crises. <br>
Consulting engineers MR2 McDonald & Associates of Regina were hired to redesign the North Battleford water treatment plant, and the same firm is now designing a second water treatment plant for the city.<br>
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