Sackville seeks private company to operate water treatment plant

SACKVILLE, NB The town is on the lookout for a qualified company to operate Sackvilles water treatment plant.

Town council announced Monday night that it is currently seeking proposals from operators of water treatment facilities to run Sackvilles 10-year-old treatment plant.

Mayor Jamie Smith said this move provides an opportunity for the town to bring in a company that has a wealth of experience in dealing with water quality issues and who will, at the same time, satisfy the certification issues now required by the province.

Essentially, what were doing is buying their expertise, said Smith. We believe the expertise they can bring to the table is better than what we would be able to provide.

New provincial regulations brought forth last fall require the town to hire a Level 2 and Level 3 operator for its water treatment plant.

Currently, only a Level 1 operator staffs the plant.

Smith noted that there are a limited number of qualified operators in the job market in New Brunswick, with only nine Level 3 operators and one Level 4 operator available throughout the province.

We feel we would not be able to get someone to come here, to lure them away from other jobs, said Smith.

Town CAO Barry Carroll said, as part of the contract, the provider will help implement a pH control and a corrosion control program to deal with the towns longstanding water quality issues.

The bigger piece of this puzzle here is that council has been listening to what the residents have been saying about dirty waterand they (public works staff) have tried some things themselves and I think that what we want to do now is bring in the expertise here that can help deal with the water quality issues out in the distribution system.

Carroll insisted hiring a qualified company to operate the treatment plant will bring in additional expertise we dont have on staff right now.

Really all were looking at here is someone that will operate the plant and theyll have nothing else to do with the system. Theyll operate the plant, theyll bring in expertise and theyll provide input into the water quality issues in the community.

The length of the contract has yet to be determined but Carroll said the term will be left open in the request for proposals.

Although town officials were insistent that this move will prove to be more cost efficient, at least one councillor said he wasnt so sure that would be the case.

I feel it can be done cheaper if we do it ourselves, said Coun. Ross Monk, the only member of council to vote against the request for proposals Monday night.

Monk said on Tuesday he is hesitant to vote for a motion that essentially has the town contracting out a major service.

I dont think its right, not without trying it ourselves first, he said, noting hed like to see further review conducted on the issue.