PIC RIVER FIRST NATIONS – As work continues on the Pic River water treatment plant, Chief Duncan Michano outlines the work being done to ensure progress.
“Rebuild the filtration plant to make a bigger and better filtration plant so that there is more capacity. We are also going not to be drawing from those wells anymore. We are going to take the intake out to Lake Superior,” said Chief Michano in an interview with CNFO.
The existing water treatment plant will be decommissioned and a new water treatment plant will be built on top of its location complete with an infiltration gallery, a low lift station with a wet well and low lift pump chamber and a below-grade reservoir.
The new intake structure will be 1,800 metres long, and a 250 millimetres in diameter raw water intake pipe will flow into Lake Superior. The upgrades will also include a low lift pumping station, conventional filtration treatment, ultraviolet disinfection, chlorine addition, a below-grade reservoir being utilized for chlorine contact and fire protection, a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system and backup power.
In addition, a new conventional water treatment system, high lift pumps, fire pumps and a new septic system will be installed.
The rehabilitation of the Pic River water treatment plant will have a great impact on the community as the upgrade will allow for new infrastructure projects including developing new houses for residents.
“That filtration system, that’s there, works well. It makes good water; however, it’s at capacity. In order for us to build new houses, we need to rebuild that and make it larger, as well as, the water intake. The wells, we have five wells where we get our water down there, and they're at capacity as well,” said Michano.
