The town of Saltcoats will have a challenging couple of years. Infrastructure projects need to happen, with a water treatment plant that has to happen by 2023, a lagoon improvement that is tied to the same system, and the need to decommission the landfill. The town held an information meeting to inform residents about where they stand right now and what the priorities are for the community.
The problem Saltcoats faces is infrastructure, a common problem in small town Saskatchewan. Mayor Grant McCallum explained that the town faces a number of infrastructure needs hitting around the same time, including the need for a new town shop - the old one, built in a former theatre, was no longer able to meet code, the need for road improvements, the need to decommission the old landfill and a complete rethink of their water treatment facility.
鈥淭hey all came due in a short period of time. Some are on the go, a couple of them we have completed, and there are a couple yet to get started, but we are working on them. There is so much going on with these projects, more than ever, at least in recent history with the town, so we wanted the town to be as informed as possible.鈥�
The major project for the town will be the new water treatment plant and lagoon expansion. The town received a grant from the Canada Builds Program - Small Community Fund, so the town only has to pay for a third of the project, but that means they鈥檙e still on the hook for approx. $1.5 million. They also need to study what is the best treatment option for the community, said McCallum, given that they have high ammonia content in the water.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a health issue, it鈥檚 not a water quality issue, but what it does is tie up the chlorine, and it does not allow us to reach break-point chlorination, or at least to measure it,聽 and that鈥檚 a problem. We need a treatment system that will effectively remove or neutralize that ammonia, so that we can measure our disinfection rates and make sure our water is compliant with Saskatchewan water guidelines.鈥�
The water system is a priority due to the permits involved, which have a sunset clause, and are fast running out. The Canada Builds grant also has a deadline of 2023. McCallum said that as a community, there is no getting around the need for water.
鈥淚鈥檝e heard of communities having to truck in water, who are not big enough to sustain a water operator on staff. We certainly don鈥檛 want to get anywhere near that degree, we need to look after this now. We鈥檙e building reserves, we鈥檙e studying water treatment options, we鈥檒l get there, but it鈥檚 a big thing for a small town to chew off.鈥�
The struggle right now is improving the roads in town. A recent survey of residents revealed that improving roads is a high priority for the residents. The problem is that to pave all of the roads would cost $1.5 million, which they don鈥檛 have because they need to pay for other things first.
While McCallum said that they definitely know that road improvement is something the town needs, the water issues the town is facing are more urgent, and have a clear deadline. Streets have been bumped down the list for over a decade, eclipsed by more urgent needs for the community. The streets will be handled budget by budget, and they want to do at least one a year.
鈥淭he streets have kept on slipping down the list, just because they weren鈥檛 a must... We want to keep making progress but it鈥檚 not going to be as much as we would like. We have to look after the regulatory things first. The safe drinking water, the lagoon expansion, our employees, our equipment fleet and so forth.鈥�
