A new innovative project was launched last week in Lumsden.

The town unveiled its new wastewater treatment plant and solar projects.

The wastewater treatment plant uses a process involving a biological nutrient removing in sequencing batch reactors and ultraviolet disinfection. This process will transform the community’s wastewater into treated effluent.

Councillor Rhonda Phillips noted this was important project to complete for the town and the surrounding area. “We’ve had a moratorium on development because our lagoon system was not treating sewage to a high enough level.”

The total cost for the project was $21 million which was funded under the New Building Canada Fund with the Government of Canada and the Saskatchewan Government contributing more than $6.7 million to the project. The Town of Lumsden provided the rest of the funding needed for the wastewater treatment plant.

The work on the solar Lumsden Solar Project began in 2020. The solar array can produce 616 Kilowatts of electricity that can be saved to a 1.2 Megawatt battery energy storage system. This helps power the treatment process of the new wastewater plant.

The solar infrastructure for the Lumsden Recycling Centre is also now completed. The remaining solar infrastructure for the south sewage lift station is expected to be completed later this year.