Paradise’s new Lift Station 10 suffers malfunction
By Mark Squibb
A troublesome lift station along St. Thomas Line in Paradise that made headlines when it suffered a major malfunction and spewed sewage on a nearby home back in 2019 has suffered yet another major malfunction.
“A pump at Lift Station 10 malfunctioned on Thursday, October 3, 2024, and has suffered considerable damage,” councillor Glen Carew told his council colleagues Tuesday. “The lift station is still in operation and working with one pump, without a back up. If the working pump malfunctions, the Town will require sewage vacuum trucks until a replacement pump is in place.”
Council was quoted a cost of between $89,220 to $116,580, plus HST, to repair the damaged pump, with an eight to 10 week wait for parts.
Carew said staff instead recommended the Town rent a pump at a cost of $11,971, plus HST, per month, for a five-month period until when the replacement Lift Station 10 is estimated to come online, for a total of $59,859, plus HST,
The new lift station is expected to be completed by mid-February.
“Due to the volatility of Lift Station 10, staff sought approval from the chair of public works, which is me, to e-poll council for a decision to expediate the rental unit,” said Carew. “Council was polled on whether to proceed with the rental of a pump for Lift Station 10 from Xylem Canada, as the pump required is unique to Lift Station 10 requirements.”
That e-poll took place on October 11, and council voted unanimously to approve the rental at a total cost of $68,837, HST included, plus an additional $1,150 for delivery.
“This is a critical piece of infrastructure,” said Carew. “We have only one pump in operation, and so we’re in a vulnerable position. The cost to repair the pump and the timeframe associated would be much farther away than we would feel comfortable with. We have a little bit of time left until the new Lift Station 10 is commissioned, and we know what happened in 2019. We don’t want to be in a position where we have a catastrophic failure and no pumps available.”
Construction on the replacement lift station began in January 2023.
Original pre-tender construction estimates came in at $12.6 million and a secondary estimate accounting for inflation came in at $16.9 million. The final bids, however, came in much, much higher, with the lowest bid hovering around $23.6 million.
The Town received about $6 million in government funding for the lift station, however the lion’s share of the cost has fallen on Paradise taxpayers.