“Our water hasn’t changed, the way we deliver it has. We need certified water treatment plant operators”, are just a couple of comments heard at the many municipality council meetings.
A few small villages are struggling to achieve provincial standards for water treatment in rural Saskatchewan. Many rely on securing grants which make up the majority of the funding for these huge financial endeavours.
The Municipal Investments in Infrastructure website shows that the Saskatchewan Government has announced funding for 40 infrastructure projects in the province with over $155 million allocated for 2019.
Two local municipalities are listed, one receiving a grant for a “Landfill decommissioning” and one for “Sewage pumping system upgrades.”
It will cost approximately $1,318,00.00 to upgrade the sewer pumping system, and $1,242,450 to decommission a landfill. A staggering amount of money that even big cities would struggle to cover.
To properly run and maintain a water treatment plant, a municipality requires operators to become a certified water treatment plant operator. This certification can be earned through a five-year self-paced program available in Saskatchewan.
There are four areas of treatment: water treatment, water distribution, wastewater treatment and wastewater collection; each having four levels of training (levels 1 through 4).
The average wage (according to the water treatment plant operator salary in Canada- neuvoo.com) for an entry-level position starts at $50,000, while the most experienced operators make up to $68,626. One operator would have a hard time serving a small town alone with the on-call and weekend work required. How does a small village of under 100 people, with an operating budget for the town around $80,000 to $100,000 afford these expenses? Even towns of five hundred to a thousand residents are having issues recruiting and retaining qualified public works operators.
One way four towns are combating these costs is to enter into an agreement. The towns of Bredenbury, Churchbridge and Saltcoats have welcomed the Town of Esterhazy into a long-standing agreement to share water plant operators on an emergency basis. This means that if one town needs a qualified operator for their water treatment plant they can call upon this agreement and have their water treatment plant looked after by qualified operators.
By Gary Horseman (Local Journalism Initiative Reporter) garyfourtownjurnal@gmail.com Four-Town+ Journal