City of Iqaluit to replace Lake Geraldine intake valve
Valve is ‘at the end of its life expectancy,’ says city’s director of engineering and capital planning
Iqlauit city council unanimously approved a $700,000 replacement project for Lake Geraldine’s intake valve. (File photo by Dustin Patar)
The City of Iqaluit plans to replace Lake Geraldine’s intake valve this year.
City councillors voted unanimously at Wednesday’s council meeting to approve the $700,000 cost and for administration to put out a request for proposals to do the work during the current construction season.
The valve is “at the end of its life expectancy,” said Kevin Kerr, the city’s director of engineering and capital planning, during the meeting.
“It’s a critical piece of infrastructure, it’s basically what controls water from the reservoir and the source to the water treatment.”
The money to replace the valve will come from this year’s capital budget, according to a city staff report.
Administration will attempt to award a contract so the work can be complete for the 2024 construction season, although material supplies and other scheduling constraints “may dictate that the works need to be deferred to 2025,” according to the report.
Council approved $41.44 million for water-related work in this year’s capital budget, making up nearly half of the city’s planned infrastructure spending.
The federal government announced $214 million in 2022 to help the City of Iqaluit upgrade its water system. Just under $28 million of this year’s water upgrade funding comes from this pot of money.
Don`t you think it is a little bit late to think about that and to go to tender ?
I am sure this is not something that you can source at your local Home Hardware .
And mobilizing a company this late in the season won`t be easy or economical.
Another casde of last minute decisions.
Poor planning
Thanks
Sure, I love to roast the city whenever I get a chance, but let’s be real—this isn’t the scandal of the century. A two-week tender period for a run-of-the-mill replacement item? Totally fair game. It’s an end-of-life swap-out, not a catastrophic failure or “last minute decision”. Whether it’s this season or next, no need to be “pissed off.”
Save your outrage for something more exciting!
Was this major item in the City’s Capital Plan? If not, then it was a last minute decision and poor planning.
Hard to tell though because the city does not publish it’s capital plan…
The fact that it is not even posted yet, and after the awarding of the contract, there is the design, the NWB approval process, (which isn’t a next day service), plus procurement and supply then install, commissioning.
Saying that the schedule may dictate that the works need to be deferred to 2025 is like saying the lake may freeze over this winter.
I talk with guys and they said no problem design build.