Kenora City Council approves additional funding for water/wastewater plant projects

Kenora City Council is opting to offset cost overruns on repairs to the water and wastewater treatment plants through debt financing.

The city was forced to make emergency repairs at its wastewater treatment plant because of an overflow event in September 2024.

It was estimated that the work would cost about $600,000.

Director of Infrastructure and Operations, Greg Breen, says the best tender price came in at $1.72 million.

“Primarily driven by the amount of electrical equipment that is being replaced in the plant that was completely submerged underwater and is no longer functioning,” says Breen.

A similar budget overrun is reported with the project at the water plant where lift pumps are being replaced.

Council approved an extra $900,000 for the first phase of the project last year to bring the budget to $1.2 million.

Breen says another $450,000 is necessary as tenders came in slightly higher than expected.

He says it also accounts for design work that has been done for the three phases of the project.

“I am hoping that helps offset, in the future phases, a bit of a reduction of what we’ll see expended there because we’ve completed all the design upfront for all three phases,” says Breen.

He is hoping to be on or below budget for the next two phases of the project.