Town receives $350,000 grant for water treatment plant

By Rob Vogt
The Town of Claresholm has received a grant for just less than $350,000 to upgrade the water main lines at the water treatment plant.
On Thursday, June 25, Chelsae Petrovic, MLA for Livingstone-Macleod, presented a cheque for $349,003 to Brad Schlossberger, the mayor of Claresholm, and Brad Burns, the town’s utilities manager.
“The Town of Claresholm wishes to thank the provincial government and the ministry of transportation and economic corridors for their financial assistance with our water treatment plant transmission line replacement,” Schlossberger said.
“This funding will allow us to upgrade our main water lines leaving the water treatment plant, which will ensure more reliable water delivery to our community and region for many years.”
Burns explained the water mains date back to when the water treatment plant was originally built in 1988.
In fact, there are two lines.
One line goes out to the east-side reservoir and pump station.
The other is the distribution water line for the entire town.
Both lines are working fine, but they do suffer natural wear and tear from water and chlorine.
Burns emphasized it is important to replace infrastructure, such as these lines, before there is a catastrophic failure.
That is why the town has a five-year capital plan in place to ensure the water treatment plant is continually upgraded and kept current.