Buffalo Pound project still on track to be completed in 2025 despite schedule issues

The Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant (BPWTP) upgrade project is about three months behind schedule, but officials say it is not facing cost overruns and will has reserves to provide a cushion.

Ryan Johnson, president and CEO of the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation (BPWTC), presented the organization’s 2023 annual report at the recent regular meeting of the City Council.

Renovations began in July 2022 and since then construction has been progressing “very well,” Johnson said. The $325 million project is about 50 percent complete, with about 30 percent of revenue remaining. Additionally, although the overall schedule is approximately 90 days behind schedule, installation of critical items is on schedule.

“There were some disruptions to operations related to construction activities, but these were mitigated by all parties,” he said.

The company faces legal issues involving commercially sensitive equipment, but it does not plan to resolve those issues until contractors complete work at the site, Johnson added. Although the organization will face a dispute resolution process, the project is still expected to be completed by December 31, 2025.

When asked if it was behind schedule, the plant’s president and CEO said the project was on budget and had emergency funding. Additionally, the cash flow distribution will remain high over the next few months, between $8 million and $10 million, before slowly decreasing to $2 million and $3 million.

Council also asked Johnson to comment on the volume of water available in Lake Diefenbaker – which feeds Buffalo Pound Lake – since there was a drought last year in southern Saskatchewan and some residents are worried about shortages.

“We are paying close attention to the water levels in both locations,” Johnson said.

The Water Security Agency (WSA) manages water bodies across the province and monitors their levels, and last winter added an extra meter of runoff to Lake Diefenbaker, knowing it might not receive similar runoff volumes in the future, he continued.

This additional water allowed the lake to provide a full level of service throughout the province; the BPWTC draws 3 percent of Diefenbaker’s water to Buffalo Pound, while the remainder is piped to the Saskatoon area.

Buffalo Pound Lake has a three-year domestic water supply for this area, while Diefenbaker has an 18-year supply. So there are no concerns about its inability to supply major cities, Mr Johnson said.

However, the company warns that BPWTP cannot produce at full capacity while the plant is being built, a restriction it managed – successfully – last year, he continued.

“We don’t expect 2024 to be any different, but we want to make sure people are aware that if we have a long period of hot, dry weather, we may have restrictions (in place again) or ask the cities to deal with this…” remarked Johnson.

“After this year, we should… have a lot of capacity…”

The company’s president and CEO added that there could be water available in Lake Diefenbaker for “several hundred years” if the province used the liquid only for domestic purposes.

The area of ​​Buffalo Pound is 2,900 hectares/7,163 acres, which means it has a capacity of 90 million cubic meters at full supply level.

Annual Highlights

Johnson’s report provided other highlights from BPWTP’s 2023 year, such as:

• The organization has installed a 1.8 megawatt solar panel system which it will put into operation on Tuesday, June 18.
• The company is working with the WSA to address drainage issues because plans by some landowners in the area could change the chemistry of Buffalo Pound Lake and affect water quality.
• The Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association has certified BPWTP at the bronze level in recognition of its safety efforts; the factory’s next goal is silver certification
• The plant met all regulatory requirements to produce drinking water.
• The organization had projected a $2 million deficit to cover higher expenses, removal of sludge from lagoons and lower Regina water sales.
• Reserves decreased from $74.3 million to $36 million to cover project cash flow
• BPWTP pumped 34,020.70 megalitres of water, including 5,278.58 ML in Moose Jaw, 28,557.31 ML in Regina and 184.81 ML in SaskWater; 2022 to 2023 sales decreased 0.27 percent in Regina and increased 2.9 percent in Moose Jaw
• Total revenues were $102,401,593 and total expenses were $23,366,907, leaving a surplus of $79,034,686, which increased the accumulated surplus to $211,611,496.
• The total debt stands at $92.9 million, a decrease of $3,642,674 from 2022.

The next regular council meeting will take place on Monday, June 10.