Disposal Well Service Work Questioned

Is a resource being used and if it isn’t should the City be spending $150,000 on it in a tight budget year was a question asked at last Wednesday’s special meeting of Council.

The issue surrounded the disposal well for waste water from the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa and the need for remedial service work to re-open the disposal well for waste water from the spa’s pool. Waste water from the pool is reinjected back underground and handled as an environmental contaminanent.

The budget did not specify the exact nature of the rehabilitation work and whether it was to be chemical, mechanical, physical or a combination job.

During budget discussions it was revealed the waste water from the pool is not being reinjected back underground as the disposal well is not working but it is being put into the sanitary sewer system at a rate of six litres per minute. It was not mentioned how long the disposal well had not been working.

Councillor Brian Swanson said he had heard the Spa was no longer using the mineral water from the well and questioned if that was true.

“How do we know the water is coming from the well?” Councillor Swanson asked.

City engineer Josh Mickelborough said the Spa was using the mineral water from the geothermal well.

“The Spa wants to take that water and continue that relationship,” Mickelborough stated.

Under the agreement with SaskWater the City owns the wells and the system is operated by SaskWater.

“They (SaskWater) deal with the volumes of water being pumped,” he said.

Councillor Swanson pressed the issue stating if the Spa was not using the water in their pool should the City be spending $150,000 servicing an unused disposal well.

City clerk/solicitor Myron Gulka-Teichko said the City likely had no choice on servicing the well as it was a regulatory requirement.

“I don’t think this is a voluntary thing I think it is a regulatory thing,” Gulka-Teichko said.

“I don’t know if it is being used as envisioned yet were are going to be expected to come up with a $150,000,” Councillor Swanson said.

After its initial opening the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa reduced the amount of geo-thermal mineral water used and blended it with regular City water as it was staining the tiles around the pool. It is unknown at this time what ratio, if any, the Spa’s pool water is being blended at.