Construction of a new horizontal water well north of the Okotoks water treatment plant has begun, with the work expected to last until mid-November.
The Town made the decision to move forward with the project in August, with the aim of maximizing the flow from the Sheep River to the water treatment plant, while making the most of the capacity allotted by current water licences.
Okotoks currently operates 13 vertical raw water wells which draw from the Sheep River into the plant, where it is treated and distributed to residents and businesses.
Development and sustainability director Jeff Greene previously told council the Town's raw well capacity has not kept pace with new licence purchases and growth approved under the current allocation system.
In the same presentation this summer, water services manager Rakesh Savani explained that Okotoks holds licences to pull approximately 3.7 million cubic metres of H20 annually, but existing infrastructure is only extracting about three million cubic metres.
A perforated collection pipe and an engineered sump are set to be installed seven to 10 metres below ground to collect groundwater using single-pass trenching construction machinery. This is expected to yield three to five times more water than a traditional vertical well, although exact extraction amount can vary due to a number of factors.
This project is being completed as an amendment to the interim raw water capacity Project 91 which was originally set at a cost of $176,000 for the 2022 capital budget. With this amendment, an additional $724,000 was allocated to the project, bringing the total cost to $900,000.
Funds to complete the project have been drawn from water offsite levies.
If the project yield is sufficient, Greene said there is the potential to eliminate a different proposed project at the treatment plant – a mixing chamber – which would reduce the capital budget by $2 million.
Questions have floated in regarding the necessity of this project given the newfound assurance of the Foothills-Okotoks Sub-Regional Water Project, which was granted provincial funding in July.
Greene has explained in the past that project was designed under a guaranteed pumping capacity from the Sheep River and because those levels are not currently being reached, changes needed to be made to ensure sufficient water in the interim but also for the success of the Town's long-term water solution.
The construction area is fenced off and will remain so until the completion of the project in a few week. However, no pathway disruptions are expected.
Residents are encouraged to watch for signage, crews, equipment and use caution in the area.
