The District of Barriere reports that water pooling directly behind the Barriere Solar Aquatics Water Reclamation Centre and next to the accompanying Rapid Infiltration Basin (RIBs) in a shallow ditch along Airfield Road was originally thought to be snow melt.
However, after investigation it was discovered that the inspection pipe associated with the first of the three basins had been intentionally tampered with and shattered over the winter. The pipe was repaired and it was believed the issue had been fixed.
However, the water that was being noticed in the adjacent ditches continued to appear depending on which basin was being dosed.
District of Barriere CAO Colleen Hannigan told the Star/Journal, “This water is the end product of the Solar Aquatics Wastewater plant after it has been filtered and sent past an Ultra Violet (UV) system before finally making its way to ground. It appears after further examination the first two basins that have been getting the most use are starting to plug up with fines. A crew uncovered the northerly basin to determine the extent of this issue and the design engineer has been contacted for a solution. Each basin is 20 metres in length, but only a metre in width and depth. They will be rebuilt immediately within the same area. Basin 3 continues to operate perfectly and is handling the entire load at this time.”
