Saulteau First Nation (SFN) released the details of a wastewater project set to break ground next week.
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter ● Indigenous Voices, Local Journalism Initiative, News, Peace Region ● August 9, 2024 ● 2 minutes of reading
MOBERLY LAKE, B.C. — Saulteau First Nation (SFN) released the details of a wastewater project set to break ground next week.
In a Facebook post dated August 7th, SFN said the on-site septic system “no longer services the community” in the Lakeview and Riverside subdivisions, affecting approximately 67 homes.
According to Shane Reynolds, the SFN manager of assets and capital projects, bi-weekly septic tank pumping costs the First Nation between $200,000 and $300,000 annually.
Reynolds says plans for the project had started around 2012.
“There was a feasibility study and a system that was designed,” said Reynolds. “Then, the project just stalled until around 2022.”
“It was then we and our engineering consultants decided to approach Indigenous Services Canada to go forward with an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach.”
A government website says an IPD involves an approach with all stakeholders involved in a project’s design and construction components, allowing the parties to work alongside one another from beginning to end.
“With the IPD, the engineers worked alongside the designers so the project can get built,” says Reynolds.
The new system, which will include wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal, will mitigate environmental and health concerns caused by sewage waste.
“There are physical as well as mental concerns,” says Reynolds. “We’re raw sewage building up in someone’s home. For those individuals who had to get the system pumped out every week, there’s no longer the question of ‘How many loads of laundry can I do?’ or ‘How many times can my toilet be flushed?’”
“It’s not a healthy situation. Because is it going to back up? You never know.”
Partners involved in the project, estimated to cost between $25 and $30 million, include Chando’s Construction LLC of Vancouver and Urban Systems Ltd. and Indigenous Services Canada as part of their “On-Reserve Source Water Protection Plan.”
Reynolds also says employment opportunities for SFN members will be available for on-site equipment operators, labourers, engineers, pipefitters, and tradespersons.
The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for August 15th. See SFN’s Facebook page for further information.
