City of Yellowknife staff are recommending that council scrap plans to build a new drinking-water pipe stretching from the Yellowknife River, saying the $100-million cost is too much.
Seven years ago, the city decided it should replace two pumphouses and an 8.5-km underwater pipeline that help bring fresh water into Yellowknife’s treatment plant from the river.
At the time, the city was given $26 million from the federal government to help. That covered 75 percent of the overall $34-million estimated cost.
By 2023, that overall cost had risen to a projected $57 million. Last month, council was told it has now reached nearly $109 million.
Councillors were recently shown an updated study that declared the new pipeline is still the best bet, despite the eye-watering 238-percent cost increase since 2018.
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Staff have now reviewed the study and provided a recommendation: abandon hope of completing that project any time soon – because the city is nowhere near being able to afford it – and stick with the status quo instead.
The updated study did examine the status quo option. The status quo in this instance means continuing to use the existing pipeline until it fails, then drawing water from Yellowknife Bay after that.
While the bay is much nearer and doesn’t need a long-distance pipe, there are lingering concerns that a disaster at the highly toxic Giant Mine – which borders the bay – could have a catastrophic impact on Yellowknife’s water source if the city has come to be reliant on the bay.
The risk of arsenic contamination from Giant, a former gold mine, is considered extremely low but not zero. The city already uses the bay as its water source on a fairly regular basis, such as when leaks mean more water is needed or during annual maintenance.
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The city considers both sources, the bay and the river, to be “pristine.”
Pumphouse ‘in state of failure’
On Monday, council will review a briefing note from staff that recommends sticking with the existing pipeline for as long as it will last, then switching to the bay.
The federal cash will still be used. The city will look to repurpose all available money from Ottawa to help pay for the much-needed replacement of one of its pumphouses, some parts of which date back to 1948. That project is estimated to cost $37 million.
Regardless of whether the water comes from the bay or the river, the pumphouse in question is a key part of the city’s water system and is already described as being in a “state of failure.”
The status quo approach was by far the cheapest option presented to the city in the latest study.
In its briefing note, City Hall tells councillors the recommended approach “maintains the Yellowknife River as the primary water source for the city for as long as the infrastructure remains functional.”
“This approach attempts to take all realities into consideration and complete necessary work with funding already in hand, while continuing a planned approach to address the other aspects of the project,” councillors are told.
“Administration will continue to seek funding opportunities to complete the remaining aspects of the project.”
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Council could still reach a different conclusion.
One other option presented in the updated study is to pump water from Yellowknife Bay with a new arsenic removal process, while using the existing pipeline from the river as a backup.
A fourth option would be to drop the pipeline and simply pump water from Yellowknife Bay with a major new treatment process for arsenic removal.
Each of those options would be more expensive than the status quo but not as costly as the new pipeline.
Councillors will discuss the briefing note from 12pm on Monday.
