Sicamous’ new water treatment plant is online and on budget.
The Mara water facility was operational as of late December 2015 and, as council learned this month, it’s construction cost appears to be within its $7.9 million budget.
Total costs as of April 11 came in at $7,798,176, with $963,000 of that spent on consulting/engineering fees and the remainder on the physical construction.
Town manager Evan Parliament explained some of the money owed by the district is being withheld (about $160,000) due to unaddressed deficiencies. He said there are roughly 60 items, but of the 60, 50 are minor
“There exists roughly six or eight items which refer to the hold back or the money that we’re keeping until those deficiencies are corrected,” said Parliament, adding those items are being addressed.
In April 2013, the federal and B.C. governments contributed a total of $3 million in grant money towards the water plant back when the council of the day anticipated it would cost $4.5 million.
“Once it was all brought forward, we realized that what we were trying to do was not going to be adequate for the long haul. So we needed to put something in place that will be there for the long haul,” Mayor Terry Rysz told the News in 2014, after it was revealed the cost had jumped to $7.9 million.