Sackville water treatment capacity fix means diverting up to $40k from sewage lagoon fund
Tantramar council will be considering some more unplanned spending in the Sackville water utility, which could end up diverting up to $40,000 from reserve funds meant for the eventual upgrading of Sackville’s sewage lagoons.
Public works manager Jon Eppell told council Monday that three water pumps which push untreated water through the filtration system at the water treatment plant are underperforming, putting the town at risk of potential shortages in Sackville’s treated water supply.
“Our production has been challenged for the last year plus,” said Eppell. “We were not managing to treat enough water, or as quickly as we were expecting.”
After investigating a number of possible causes for the lack of capacity, three nearly-30-year-old pumps were identified as operating “in some cases, at perhaps less than 50% of the expected efficiency,” said Eppell.
The three low lift pumps take turns pushing untreated water from a large tank under the building through the water filters in the treatment system. From there, water is chlorinated and then goes into a treated water tank and is available for use by the town’s water customers.
Eppell says the three pumps were all installed in 1997, and haven’t seen any refurbishment since then.
The lack of efficiency has affected how much treated water is available in Sackville, which Eppell said is a potential problem, especially when there is high demand for water.… Continue
Wastewater COVID-19 tracking could come to Sackville in 2024
Sackville may soon join the list of 62 communities in Canada who are having their wastewater tested regularly to spot trends in COVID-19. At Tantramar council committee of the whole on Monday, town engineer Jon Eppell told council about a recent offer from NB Public Health to participate in the growing surveillance program.
“This is a COVID-19 initiative that several communities across New Brunswick have been invited to participate in,” said Eppell. “We think this is a really good thing, and that after a couple of months of data collection, Sackville would appear as one of the communities on the national COVID-19 dashboard.”
Wastewater testing involves taking samples of sewage and testing for viral loads of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. Sewage surveillance has been used as an early warning system for infection levels, because COVID-19 can be detected in wastewater even before symptoms develop in people.
The city of Moncton has participated in a testing program with Dalhousie University through much of the pandemic, and has been reporting to the national dashboard since the summer of 2022. Starting at various points in 2023, results from Bathurst, Campbellton, Fredericton, Miramichi, Saint John and Edmundston are also featured on the dashboard.
Department of Health spokesperson Sean Hatchard did not answer a question about how many new sites in New Brunswick would be added along with Sackville. Hatchard says the province has received federal funding to help develop its wastewater surveillance program, and is “hopeful that Tantramar will join the program in the new year.”… Continue
Council to consider hiring Veolia to take on Dorchester water as well as Sackville
Town engineer Jon Eppell is recommending that Tantramar expand its contract with Veolia Water Technologies to include the operation of the Dorchester water treatment plant. Tantramar council will consider the proposal at its regular meeting tonight at 7pm in Sackville town hall.
At council’s committee of the whole meeting in July Eppell said a request for a change in position from the current staff person operating the Dorchester plant prompted the town to explore the outsourcing of the service.
“We went to Veolia who we’re all very familiar with in Sackville,” said Eppell. The global water treatment company has been operating the Sackville plant since 2007, and it also operates the Moncton water treatment system.
The Dorchester contract would cost the town an additional $2000 per week, or $104,000 per year, with additional costs for overtime and emergency services. There will also be about $12,000 in technological upgrades for Veolia to take over the Dorchester system. Tantramar currently pays about $245,000 annually for the Sackville Veolia contract.
The Veolia contract amount is not currently budgeted, but a staff report says the funds will come from “salary savings within the Dorchester portion of the Utility Budget,” for 2023, and then will be budgeted accordingly in 2024. Overall, this will be an increase in utility expenses, as the staff person currently operating the plant will be reassigned to other utility duties.… Continue
The beleaguered birds of Tantramar: Shep is good to go, but Erin the Heron is in rough shape
When Tantramar council passed a resolution in early April instructing staff not to remove Shep the Sandpiper from its perch in Dorchester Village Square, it came with a caveat, that town engineer Jon Eppell would inspect the bird and its installation, to make sure all was safe and sound.
“I’ve had a quick look out in the field and there’s no immediate safety concerns that I see,” says Eppell, noting that he is due to update council with more information on that matter shortly.
The reason for Eppell’s inspection was that the Shep installation was done without staff knowledge or participation, by a team of local volunteers who also commissioned the sculpture, paid for it, and transported it from artist Robin Hanson’s studio near Oromocto.
Erin the Heron, on the other hand, was part of a by-the-book public art commission. Unveiled in 2016, the bronze heron was part of Heron’s Watch, by artist Christian Toth, also featuring ducks Gracie Ann and Willy. The three bronze birds sit in a garden bed at the corner of Bridge Street and Weldon in downtown Sackville, but recently the bronze heron has been boarded up.
“It looks like a significant weight was placed on the back of the bird,” says Eppell.… Continue
New town engineer says Sackville in good position, expects amalgamation to go ‘surprisingly well’
Jon Eppell might just be the only person working for the town of Sackville who knew full well when he was hired that the town would be undergoing radical changes in the coming months, including a new name, new boundaries, new communities, and a new government. And he wanted the job anyway.
As Sackville’s new Town Engineer, Eppell leads the public works department and oversees all roads, facilities and the town’s sewer and water services.
In mid-September, CHMA dropped by town hall to meet Eppell and find out a bit more about the new public works boss:
Eppell comes to the town of Sackville after working the past three years with Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, but he’s been a Sackville resident since 2009, when his wife took a job in town and his family made the move. For years he commuted to Nova Scotia for work, first as engineer for Halifax Harbour Bridges and then as operations manager for Cumberland County.
When the post for Town Engineer went up earlier this year (after former Town Engineer Dwayne Acton moved on to a position with Mount Allison,) Eppell says he was “quite excited at the opportunity.” One of the reasons Eppell made the move from Halifax Harbour Bridges to Cumberland County was to be closer to family in Sackville, and so the new job was a natural fit.… Continue