ETA for Hay River’s new water treatment plant? 2029.

Hay River’s new water treatment plant won’t be completed until 2029 at the current rate, according to the town’s senior administrator.

In 2020, the town spent more than 100 days under boil-water advisories due to high water levels and increased muddiness in the water. Events like the spring breakup of the river make those advisories all the more likely.

The town and territorial government agree on the need for a more modern facility than the existing one, which is more than 40 years old.

But the estimated cost of a new facility has already risen from $15 million to more than $20 million in the past few years, said town manager Glenn Smith

Smith says a new plant will better meet regulatory guidelines, reduce operational and maintenance costs, and address “some of the impacts that we’re seeing or anticipating with climate change on water supplies.”

He said the project is still at the feasibility study and preliminary design stage, a stage that started in 2022 and is expected to wrap up this summer. Depending on the results of the feasibility study, consultation with neighbouring communities and the ability to find funding, Smith hopes construction will begin in 2026.

Funding is a key issue.

Last month, Smith presented a 10-year Hay River capital plan that asserted the town must find $88 million needed to complete a series of projects like the new plant. Even if the federal government can be persuaded to provide the lion’s share of that sum, Smith has said the town would still struggle to find 30 percent of it, or $26.4 million.

“It just really points to the town being underfunded,” Smith said, adding the water treatment plant “is a good example of a project that relies on federal dollars.”

In the meantime, costs at the existing plant are rising.

NWT water treatment guidelines have evolved since the old plant was build, Smith said, meaning the town will have to purchase new parts ahead of a full replacement.

A major expenditure is propane for heating the facility and the water. The new building could lower costs by using environmentally friendly alternatives, he said.

Once construction starts, it’ll take another two to three years for the building to be finished.

The incoming NWT government is led by Premier RJ Simpson, one of Hay River’s two MLAs. The other Hay River MLA, Vince McKay, is the new minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Smith hopes the new government tackles a long-identified funding gap at Maca that communities say equates to tens of millions of dollars a year in missing government support.

“It’s been recognized and documented by prior governments and we’re certainly considering it our top priority in our recommendation to the 20th Assembly for addressing,” Smith said.

“The water treatment plant is critical, like a lot of other infrastructure. The reality is we’re going to rely on other governments to support these projects to move forward.”