A $1.1 million project designed to secure water supplies to Town of Creston residents will go ahead, thanks to funding approval from the New Build Canada Fund Last week.
The undersized Schikurski Pump Station, which is currently unable to meet peak demand, is about to get a major upgrade. The facility is designed to boost water “to higher reservoirs during times of peak demand as well as regulating the flow of water into lower zones during normal flow scenarios,” says the application for federal-provincial funding. “Depending on water supply, anywhere from 32% to 100% of the water used in Creston could potentially flow through this facility on a daily basis.”
“The Town of Creston is thrilled to be receiving federal and provincial grants to offset the cost of constructing the Schikurski Pump Station; a key piece of Creston’s water supply system,” Mayor Ron Toyota said on Monday. “This project will greatly enhance the Town’s ability to ensure a reliable supply of water in our community. Additionally, the project provides us with pumping capability to meet Creston’s 20-year growth demand. The Town of Creston wishes to sincerely thank the governments of Canada and British Columbia for investing in Creston’s infrastructure by providing 67% of the funding required for this million dollar infrastructure project”
Part of the need to upgrade is to be able to deliver water pumped from Town of Creston wells on the Creston Flats into the existing water system, moving it up to the high reservoirs to maintain both water supply and pressure if the Arrow Creek system can’t keep up. In some recent years, the Arrow Creek flow has dropped dramatically in the summer months.
“Currently little redundancy exists within the system and unnecessary large scale water outages have a great risk of occurring with the failure of minor system components,” the report says. “The following issues could potentially hamper the reliable supply of water in the community:
1. Schikurski Pump Station relies on electrical power. Currently, with no backup power, a prolonged power outage would disrupt the supply of water in the community.
2. The Schikurski Pump Station cannot fill the High Zone Reservoirs during peak demands.
3. In the event of pump breakdown the Station is inoperable, backup standby pumps are required.
4. If the Pump Station is not upgraded, then additional storage is required within the community. Without the upgrade another 3.0 to 4.5 million-liter water reservoir is necessary to serve growing demand.
5. If, due to changing climate, surface water supplies become inadequate or unavailable, the ability of the Schikurski Pump Station to access developed ground water sources will be the community’s only practical source of supply in the future.
The grant will allow for the replacement of the existing booster station with a new pump arrangement that will feature four pumps in parallel, including one redundant unit. It will also create a backup power system to the station.
The grant program is administered by the Small Communities Fund, a joint effort by the Government of Canada and Government of British Columbia. Each sector contributes one third of the funding, with the successful applicants supplying the remaining third.
Last week, 26 new infrastructure projects were approved in BC, with federal and provincial governments kicking in a total of $43.5 million.