The final contract in the City of Dauphin’s long-awaited lagoon upgrades has been awarded.
At its regular meeting, May 26, Dauphin city council accepted a proposal from Penn-Co Construction Canada Ltd. of Steinbach to complete the general construction portion of the project at a cost of $14,319,931.69 plus applicable taxes.
Mike VanAlstyne, director of Public Works and Operations with the City of Dauphin, said the contract involves installation of a new aeration system, as well as construction of a new operation’s building on the north side of the existing lagoon.
“That will house the chemical feed and the blowers for the SAGR system,” VanAlstyne said.
SAGR refers to a Submerged Attached Growth Reactor. It’s a wastewater treatment process that uses aerated gravel beds to remove ammonia, biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids. SAGRs are particularly effective in cold climates, to achieve ammonia limits and improve overall effluent quality.
The system typically include a layer of insulation, such as wood chips or mulch, at the surface to prevent ice formation in the gravel bed during cold weather.
SAGRs are designed to promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms on the submerged gravel beds, which effectively convert ammonia into less harmful nitrogen forms.
“The SAGR system is being constructed within one of the existing cells. Then three of the existing cells will be taken offline eventually because they are not needed for the treatment process anymore. We’ll rehab one or two of them and then the plan is to use them as a drying bed for sludge in the future,” VanAlstyne said, referring to the organics that precipitate out and sink to the bottom and get harvested.
“Then we’ll give it to ag producers as a form of fertilizer.”
The project will actually see the footprint of the lagoon system cut in half.
“The treatment process is five times faster. So that’s the difference,” VanAlstyne said, adding the company will also be tasked with constructing a new access road to the facility.
Other contracts awarded as part of the project include an approximate $1 million deal with Stantec for design and construction administration and a $4.4 million contract with Nexom for the necessary treatment equipment.
The project will be paid for through a combination of provincial and federal grants, withdrawals from the Utility Reserve and Gas Tax Reserve, as well as borrowing to be repaid through a combination of tax levies and utility income.
“We expect to have a kickoff meeting within the next couple weeks. And I would think by the end of June we’ll have some mobilization happening,” VanAlstyne said, adding completion of the project is expected by September or October of 2026.
