Redcliff discusses fix for sewer system

By Carlie Connolly
In the Apr. 27 Redcliff council meeting, the town of Redcliff heard from Geoffrey Shulmeister of ISL Engineering, who undertook a study of their sewer system last year. He discussed the inflow and infiltration management strategy, breaking down various costs.
In December, the town had voted on upgrades for a 24-hour heavy rainfall scenario, which has a cost of $8.4 million.
Shulmeister said that in the northwest, the flow level seen was abnormal and that more testing is needed to see where the excess inflow is coming from. With the adopted plan, the south trunk line and northwest sewer lines are in need of upgrades.
He went over future servicing options, which included three major servicing categories. He discussed the full service to Medicine Hat, the north treatment facility and the south treatment facility.
The survey revealed the cost involved in upgrading the existing system, which includes the possibility of twinning Redcliff’s sewer system with Medicine Hat’s.
The initial upgrade cost for the twinning is $13.9 million for conveyance upgrades, $3.5 million for flow management, plus the additional upgrading cost of the sewer in Medicine Hat, which could be as high as $10 million.