As the “degraded condition” of Sechelt’s Wakefield Sanitary Lift Station has discharged accidental raw sewage into the ocean multiple times in the last five years, Sechelt council has approved more funding to upgrade the facility as soon as possible.
At the April 19 council meeting, elected officials voted in favour of $2,848,990 in additional funding. The project’s total cost is now $4,048,990, with funding from development cost charges (sewer), the sewer capital reserve, the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Grant and short-term borrowing. Coun. Dianne McLauchlan and Coun. Alton Toth were opposed.
Council also directed staff to defer two projects to 2025, siphon upgrades at Marine Way and phase three of a sewer expansion project.
“We are currently in a precarious situation, relying on borrowed time,” staff said.
The lift station is “both undersized and reaching end of life,” the staff report said, and needs to be replaced to eliminate future accidental discharges. There is a 20-minute window between a failure at the lift station and overflow to the ocean, resulting in significant costs for emergency call-outs and posing an environmental issue. The equipment’s lifespan cannot be extended further through maintenance efforts, staff told the council. A study also concluded that the lift station will continue to be compromised due to rising sea levels and high storm events, and has experienced “significant corrosion” because of its location close to the ocean.
The previous council directed staff to apply for a Green Infrastructure Grant from the federal government to the tune of $870,750. In 2022, that request was approved for $670,447. Then, inflation and construction costs increased the budget to $1,200,000.
The district received only one proposal for the design-build of the lift station, which came from Drake Excavating Ltd. and McElhanney Engineering at a revised amount of $3,262,100 —exceeding the budget approved in 2022. The staff report notes inflationary pressures are still escalating project costs, especially around pumps and generators, making cost estimates vary significantly between approving budgets and tendering construction.
The inflation of project costs have been unprecedented over the last two years, staff commented.
Toth said he was uncomfortable with proceeding with the project at this time, due to the cost escalation and only one bid. He said he would be interested in hearing what alternatives could include or re-tendering the project.
Mayor John Henderson said that it is “a given” that the Wakefield lift station be replaced or repaired. “I fear if we were to go back for alternatives, we could end up with an even higher bid. I don’t like the numbers and I’ve got some comments … but we’ve got to go with this.”
Coun. Donna Bell also commented, “I don’t think we can afford to wait. Plus, this is a critical infrastructure piece for us in terms of our ecosystem and environment.”
McLauchlan, who opposed the motion, said the scope of the project should be radically reduced, as “we shouldn’t be expecting business as usual, where we're building infrastructure for development we may have projected 30 years ahead.” Later in the meeting, she commented on the location of the lift station.
Coun. Brenda Rowe disagreed, stating, “I think we need to be building for the future.”
Staff clarified that storm surge and sea level rise would be considered in the design of the structure.
During the April 19 meeting, staff said the contract award and kick-off meeting could be April 24 or 25, and the project could be completed by fall/winter 2023.
