South Queens water treatment plant on schedule

Region of Queens Municipality Director of Engineering and Works, Brad Rowter reports everything is on schedule despite encountering water and soft soil at the start of construction.

“We anticipate that commissioning of the plant will be undertaken throughout the month of March,” he said.

This means they need to work out the bugs.

“You have to start up your plant and make water and then you test your water, come back and you have to do that several times over,” explained Rowter, so when the plant starts up it is delivering fully compliant treated water.

Construction began in Sept. 2006.

The project’s total cost is $7.21-million.

A previous design by a consultant estimated a project cost of $9-million or more, which the Region of Queens couldn’t afford, said Rowter.

So they went back to come up with a more affordable plan.

He said they looked carefully at the construction so they could provide the most economical and most durable building they could.

They “widdled” the price down to $6.75-million but that left no room for “unknowns.”

So the final project cost came out to be $7.21-million.

“It still gives us a tremendous value for that money,” he concluded because it is far less of a cost than if the entire project had been turned over to a contractor.

It demonstrates how fortunate residents are in the Region of Queens to have an engineering and works department “that can undertake such a large civil engineering project and successfully manage it,” said Mayor John Leefe.

Just a few months away from completion, Rowter said, “there’s not a lot left to do.”

Work left on the inside includes hanging doors, wiring installation plus a few other small things.

All that is left to do on the outside is some mechanical and electrical detail installation work, he said.

“We will be ready to deliver water to the customers, April 1, 2008,” he added.