Sechelt council announced today (Feb. 5) that they have entered into a contract with the Maple Reinders Inc. (MRI) consortium to build a $21.3 million wastewater treatment facility at the site of the existing Ebbtide treatment plant in downtown Sechelt.
The new facility will include a greenhouse that uses innovative organic processes to filter waste products as a key feature of the treatment process, a press release from Sechelt stated.
"This will be the largest infrastructure project in the District's history," Mayor John Henderson said in a news release prior to the official press conference Tuesday afternoon. "The facility will ensure wastewater treatment capacity for Sechelt for the next 20 years, with provision to add capacity incrementally for up to 50 years more. The facility will meet the highest provincial standards for water quality, energy efficiency and resource recovery. It will be the first of its kind in North America, giving Sechelt opportunities to demonstrate and market to others."
MRI was one of five companies that sent in design-build proposals for a new system in response to Sechelt's request for proposals issued in September of last year. All discussion about the proposals was done in camera and council's decision was released during a public meeting today, Feb. 5.
"Council authorized moving forward with the MRI consortium's proposal based on a unanimous recommendation from the project steering committee. This committee was established by council and includes representatives of the Coast Community Builders Association, the Sechelt Indian Band, Sechelt Council and District staff," the press release stated. "Project technical expertise was provided to the committee by our owners technical consultant, Tetra Tech and MHPM Project Managers Inc."
Coast Reporter will have extensive coverage of the announcement in the Feb. 8 print and on-line editions.
