Melville’s wastewater pumping station number 1, which pumps sewage out to the lagoon, will be replaced, starting this summer.

It was originally slated for 2024, but because of multiple failures in 2020 and a lack of capacity to handle peak weather events, City Council approved its replacement to occur this year.

Director of Public Works Andrew Fahlman says in April, a tender was posted onto SaskTenders, and 4 companies submitted proposals: Hipperson Construction Company, Westridge Construction Ltd., PCL Construction Management Inc. all based out of Regina, and Graham Construction and Engineering based out of Saskatoon.

“Within the evaluation criteria, we asked for things such as project experience, personnel experience, it could be a big corporation but they never built a Lift Station before, so we asked for individual experiences. We asked timelines, we asked for the safety programs, that’s a big key for us,” Fahlman explained to Melville City Council during the regular meeting Monday night (May 17) of the various factors considered before making a decision.

Out of the four proposals, Westridge Construction Ltd. met the majority of the criteria and came under the City’s budget for the project of $5.7-million by over $560-thousand.

Westridge Construction will be doing the project at a cost of about $5.1-million. It’s expected to begin next month and be completed by June of 2022.

In his report to Melville City Council, Fahlman says this project will address key issues such as failing piping, electrical issues, and issues around significant rainfall or flooding.

“So the area will be fenced off, excavation will start to take place and concrete poured this year, with the majority of the mechanical and inside work to be completed during the winter months,” Fahlman said. “Also included in this tender of the tear down of the existing Lift Station.

“There is asbestos in there that we got to deal with and it will take a lot of specialized equipment to remove the concrete structure below. It is that deep.”