McBride Council approves concept for new Dominion Creek water weir
By Spencer Hall
McBride Council approved a concept for a new water weir on Dominion Creek at its Committee of the Whole meeting on March 11th.
In his report to council, special project manager Philip Strain said the existing weir is at the end of its life cycle and has begun to show signs of failure. Public Works manager Brian Taphorn said the Village loses a significant amount of water through the weir itself and through the concrete below.
Strain said the new weir, which would be located above the existing weir, would be a metre taller than the old one, which would allow for about 885 cubic metres of additional water storage. The additional storage would supply residents with water for an additional two to three days, according to David Franzmann, civil engineer in training with R. Radloff and Associates.
“If we do have a major water shortage, this will give enough reserve water to get us through those critical days and where we can set up alternate emergency water,” Strain said.
Councillor Joe Kolida asked if it would be possible to increase the proposed weir’s storage volume to allow for a larger emergency water supply. Franzmann said the only option would be dredge up the creek, but pointed out that the Village’s alternate water feasibility study — which aims to identify alternate water sources for residents living in McBride Village limits — is ongoing and may identify other ways to bolster the Village’s emergency water supply.
Increased depth of water above the weir intake would also prevent a future risk of the intake pipe freezing, said Strain. Public Works manager Brian Taphorn told Council that during this winter, water in the existing weir got very close to freezing right down to the intake pipe.
“We had two days that [the water] was below freezing. I do not know how it didn’t freeze, but it didn’t. We built a hole with a nice auger. I think that helped just to get the water moving, but it scared me a little,” Taphorn said.
The total cost of the project is currently estimated at $250,000 to $300,000. Strain’s report said the final cost of the project will be determined by future detailed design drawings and tender documents. The project will be funded through the Growing Communities Reserve Fund, from which the Village received $780K back in March 2023.
“Myself and the engineers feel that this would be a very cost-effective way in the short term to increase our storage capacity, and also increase the depth of the water above the intake,” Strain told Council.
Runtz asked if there was a way to restrict tender bids to local contractors so the money stays in the community.
Strain said because the $250K project is being funded through grant money, it has to go through a “fair and open” tender process, but said there are potential workarounds the Village could use to keep the money within the community, such as separating the tenders to keep it under the $250K threshold.
Council approved the expenditure of $300,000 to be drawn from the growing Communities Reserve Fund to move forward in replacing the existing Dominion Creek weir. Staff will continue with the design process of the new weir and will return to Council once tenders have been submitted and they have a recommendation on which contractors should be awarded those tenders.
