New Iqaluit sewage plant still isn’t working as planned

MICHAELA RODRIGUE

IQALUIT — Iqaluit’s new $7.1-million sewage plant is now three months overdue and as many as four months away from completion after springing several leaks within its concrete tank system.

Iqaluit officials discovered leaks in the concrete walls of some of the system’s tanks after the tanks were filled with water during a test early this year.

“There is a delay in the project. We are working with the contractor to resolve the issues,” said Paul Fraser, Iqaluit’s acting senior administrative officer.

Fraser said he expects any extra costs to be covered by the contractor’s bond or “insurance.” The $7.1-million sewage treatment system filters human waste through a series of membranes and is supposed to replace Iqaluit’s smelly sewage lagoon.

The cost of the plant is split between the Town of Iqaluit and the Nunavut government. In a water licence issued late last year, the Nunavut Water Board imposed a deadline of Feb. 15 for the system to be up and running ó three months ago.

Fraser was scheduled to give a report to town council on the project after Nunatsiaq News press-time. But he confirmed there are problems with the “integrity” of the system’s walls.

“We have a new plan for the remediation of the leaks that existed,” Fraser said.

The Town commissioned an independent study of the plant in March, which suggests that the plant be repared.

Last week the town sent the report to the project’s contractors, Hill Murray, and is now awaiting a response.

“Hill Murray are looking at it right now and they’re going to advise us on how they’re going to address those issues,” Fraser said. Fraser would not describe the technical problems that have stalled the project.

The structural study cost $15,000 but was covered by the Nunavut government, said Coun. Matthew Spence, chair of Iqaluit’s development, works and public safety committee.

The leaks, Spence said, were created by large pieces of gravel that were trapped on top of plastic interlacing when poured into molds used to form the tank’s walls.

“When they poured the concrete, some of the granular sources were large and couldn’t fit, would get lodged between these criss-cross plastic pieces and would leave an air pocket above the stone,” Spence said.

“Originally we thought it was just a leak. It turned out that because of the voids in the walls, there is a need to increase the thickness of the walls to improve the structural integrity.”

Spence says the holes now need to be filled and the walls strengthened, but he said the tools needed are expensive to fly in and may have to wait for the sealift.

Both Fraser and Spence said they’re confident the problem can be fixed

“This is a problem, no doubt about it. And it’s disappointing that we’ve got a problem, but it’s not necessarily unusual,” Spence said.

“This contract is still alive and well,” Fraser stressed.

Both Fraser and Spence said any extra cost to repair the system should be paid by the contractor.

“I’m not worried that the town is going to incur anymore cost at this point,” Spence said.

While the project hasn’t been completed, Spence was unsure how far the company’s responsibility goes.

Meanwhile, the municipality is already in breach of one of the terms of its water licence, and once the leaks are repaired the system’s membrane still has to be installed.

Spence said the Town has written to the water board to notify it of the delay and the Town’s actions to correct the problems.

Iqaluit’s one-year water licence comes up for review this fall.