The City of Lloydminster will inspect its raw water pipeline to assess its condition.
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The pipeline was originally constructed in 1983 and brought into service the following year. Having exceeded 40 years of service, the structural condition and remaining service life of the system are currently unknown.
Teague Smith, manager of water distribution and collection, City of Lloydminster, presented the item at the June 8 regular council meeting. He explained the inspection will give the city a clear understanding of the system’s current condition.
“By completing this pre-inspection, the city will gain a better understanding of the internal pipeline conditions prior to introducing larger, more invasive equipment,” Smith said. “This approach allows for informed planning for subsequent phases, including cleaning and detailed inspection, and reduces the likelihood of equipment failure, blockages or unplanned operational disruptions.”
Smith explained how the inspection will take place.
“The inspection will be done completely in-line with a free-swimming tool,” Smith said. “The vendor will go down to the river and the intake house. They will insert their inspection tool and, using the natural flow of the water and the pumps that we have, the tool is going to swim — or be pushed, rather — from the river, all the way up to the water treatment plant, collecting data all the way.”
The pipeline will also be cleaned beforehand to ensure the vendor’s inspection tool does not get stuck.
“Some of the components that we’ve included was the requirement for a cleaning pig,” Smith said. “This particular vendor wants to insert multiple cleaning swabs of varying diameters as a risk-mitigation measure when they go to insert the larger tool.”
Coun. Michael Diachuk asked about the worst-case scenario for the pipe’s condition.
“We don’t know; we anticipate that the pipeline will be in good condition. Cement-lined steel pipes are known to have a lifespan of 70-plus years,” Smith said.
Through the assessment, crews will identify the structural condition of the pipeline, note any areas of deterioration, air pockets or small leaks, update mapping, estimate remaining service life and prioritize future maintenance or rehabilitation.
The city’s water system comprises three integrated components: the raw water supply system, the water treatment and disinfection system and the treated water storage and distribution system.
Smith said officials do not anticipate any service disruptions during the inspection, noting the city has ample raw storage.
“We have a lot of storage on the raw water side of things. The raw water reservoir has a storage capacity of 188,000 cubic metres,” Smith said.
Mayor Gerald Aalbers emphasized the importance of the water line.
“A water line is critical infrastructure — can’t put it any simpler than that,” Aalbers said.
Council approved awarding the raw water pipeline condition assessment to McElhanney Ltd. in the amount of $1,049,462.
Council also approved a 15 per cent contingency allowance of $157,419.30. Of the total $1.5 million in funding, half will come from the water and wastewater services capital reserve, with the remainder coming from third-party funding.
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