Mayor David Stead said a company did some drilling around the lagoon south of Boissevain in December to see what state it was in. He said it came from the province checking up on things. Although the full report has not come in, preliminaries have not been positive.
“They say there is a high water table,” Stead explained, “quite a bit of sand, and not enough clay. They say there may be some leakage.”
Stead said the lagoon has been around for 60 years, and he disputes the leakage claims, saying if it had been doing so it would have shown up on the surrounding farmland. He added there is no way that rural lagoons could have the environmental impact of larger players like the City of Winnipeg when it comes to pollution, claiming it is a “David and Goliath” situation.
At any rate, the municipality is looking into options to deal with the lagoon situation.
“If we didn’t do something, we could be in a position where we would be fined on a daily basis.”
The firm Santech gave an early quote for a lagoon replacement, but that was not what the municipality was looking for.
“They said it would be $10-15 million,” Stead said. “That is just not acceptable. We can’t afford that.”
They are in the process of looking into a company from Europe that did a lagoon system in Saskatchewan. They use new and different technologies, and are considerably less expensive. Stead said they have contacted MLA Doyle Piwniuk, thinking they might get a cost break if they are the ones who introduce this system in the province. Boissevain-Morton will not be the only community needing new lagoons in the future.
“If we can find a system that’s cheaper, that will be a big thing.”
Stead said they need to get a full report from the firm they are dealing with, and he feels there will be quite a bit of negotiations back and forth. Stead added they are not looking at a timeline for any project, just taking it month to month. He feels if they continue to work on the issue, they can keep any possible fines at bay.
“We’re not trying to shy away from it,” Stead stated. “We just want to see a solution that won’t break the bank.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff