It looks better the second time around.
The City of Cold Lake is letting out a sigh of relief after the drawings for their future water treatment plant have come back much improved.
“It's certainly a better design than the original,” emphasized Mayor Craig Copeland.
In November 2017, the city reviewed AECOM's original design for the expansion to the Cold Lake water treatment plant, and needless to say, they were unimpressed.
“I think the original design was lacking,” Copeland expressed.
But after taking it back to the drawing board, council agreed the new preliminary design by AECOM is exactly what they're looking for.
Coun. Vicky Lefebvre said it looks “1,000 per cent” better during their regular council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13. This was when council took their first look at the new draft, with general manager for infrastructure services Azam Khan outlining some of the details.
“The elements in the new design have been taken from Kinosoo Beach,” said Khan.
The expansion also includes a fence surrounding the facility, an addition to the clear water well and construction of baffle wells within the existing well, architectural, mechanical, electrical, and structural changes, as well as adjustments to the overall process, among other upgrades.
The reason for the development is to meet the requirements of the regional waterline. This is phase one of the overall project, and requires a significant expansion to the current facility.
“We realize the lake itself has been identified by the province to be the regional water source, and we're here to help facilitate that. But really, the project is to provide water to Cold Lake First Nations and to the Town of Bonnyville. Hopefully the project moves along soon,” Copeland said.
Although the City of Cold Lake is on board with sharing their resource with surrounding communities, council believes the aesthetics of the building are still important, especially considering the facility's location on Cold Lake.
Council described the first draft in November as “an abomination” to their lakefront. But with the recent adjustments, they're content with the appearance.
“We're just happy our issues with the water treatment building were looked at, and we're pretty happy with the results,” stated Copeland.
