The District of Sparwood will be going forward with a loan for the new wastewater treatment plant after an alternative approval process (AAP) was accepted by residents.
The AAP would pass unless 10 per cent of eligible electors submitted response forms against it.
The current AAP expired on June 5 and only 0.13 per cent of electors were against it.
Council approved the loan authorization bylaw to borrow up to $20 million for the project.
“This is the first time the district of Sparwood has had to borrow any substantial amount of money,” Mayor David Wilks said.
The project will involve upgrades to the plant’s treatment process, including its oxidation ditch, sequence batch reactors and dewatering components to keep up with increased demand.
Wilks says the old facility is showing its age.
“The existing wastewater treatment plant we have now was built in 1967, and it is reaching its end-of-life. When it was built, it was a one-of-a-kind, so all of the parts we need have to be machined,” he said.
If the AAP had failed, the borrowing would have gone to a referendum.
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