City council has authorized the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant to seek $60 million in financing to secure the funds needed for its Plant Renewal Project. 

The project is expected to cost about $252.8 million, which includes contingency. The budget includes $6.6 million for advisory services, $23.4 million for design, and $222.8 million for construction. 

Buffalo Pound has the funding for the advisors and design but is looking to shore up the funding for the construction. 

The water treatment plant has applied for $163.4 million through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). They are awaiting approval on that funding, and one of the requirements is to have the $60 million in place by June 30. 

“The only deadline we're concerned about is the federal government would like to ensure they know where our money is coming from,” said Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant general manager Ryan Johnson.  

“So, by giving us approval to proceed, that will give them the confidence that we do actually have money for our portion of the grant funding.” 

Since the city owns 26 per cent of the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant, director of financial services Brian Acker explained the ramifications. 

“Our share of that is $15.6 million that will increase our debt level. Today we have $54.6 million in debt that will move us up to $70.2 million. We have a $95 million limit. Although it is Buffalo Pound’s debt, it does show in our consolidated financial statements,” he said. 

Regina is the owner of the other 74 per cent of the water treatment plant. 

The load amounts would be paid back through the water rates charged to Moose Jaw and Regina in proportion to usage, which is 15 per cent for Moose Jaw and 85 per cent for Regina. 

The authorization for the loan passed city council unanimously. 

“It is a good time to be borrowing for this kind of long-term project and it also impacts the end-user on the water rates and we want to reduce the amount of water rate shock as we've seen those climb in recent years,” said Mayor Fraser Tolmie. 

According to the city, the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant’s last rehabilitation was nearly 30 years ago.  

The existing infrastructure is not meeting requirements for process waste discharge, chlorine storage, and hatch covers and may not meet future requirements for corrosion control and pH adjustments. 

The project agreement went into effect in June of 2020 and it is currently in the design phase. 

“If we get the funding in place at the end of Q2 or June 30 of this year we will be in a position to go through the guaranteed maximum price with the design-build team," Johnson said.  

“We expect to have that finalized and ready for approval for Sept. 30. We're thinking by Q4 will be mobilization. Construction and demolition would be probably January or February 2022.”