There are still some outstanding issues at the Sechelt Water Resource Centre (SWRC) that need to be addressed, including the building of a proper area to store chemicals used in the wastewater treatment process.
After reviewing the Deloitte report on the SWRC, director of engineering and operations Darwyn Kutney presented his findings to councillors at the June 28 public works, parks and environment committee meeting.
He said the SWRC still needs an occupancy permit as it was withheld when staff realized a room that held chemicals was not designed for that purpose.
“It appears that during the design-build process, chemical storage was not considered until the building was completed,” Kutney’s report stated.
He looked into the issue and found that Maple Reinders Inc. (the company that led the SWRC construction) was never tasked with building a separate chemical storage area, so the work now falls to the District of Sechelt.
“We have two options. We can construct a facility outside the WRC, a stand-alone facility that will need heat, power and security. That is probably going to be a costly option,” Kutney said.
“So we’re looking at putting a structure within a structure basically, taking the shop and dissecting that because we have quite a bit of area there, and putting up another wall, venting it properly and we do have the heating and the electricity right there. So it’s going to be a cheaper option.”
When asked by Coun. Doug Wright what the work might cost, Kutney said he wasn’t sure.
“Right now we’re looking at how we’re going to basically make this work,” Kutney said.
“We’re looking at logistics right now and costs will be coming forward to council.”
A few other minor deficiencies were highlighted in Kutney’s report, like a non-functioning light switch, but Maple Reinders has said it will pay to fix those things.
Once the new chemical storage room is built, the SWRC can finally be issued its occupancy permit and then receive its LEED Gold certification, which was a requirement of the new treatment plant.
The SWRC was built in 2014 at a cost of almost $25 million.
