By Mark Squibb
Paradise councillor Deborah Quilty said the Town will ask the Province for help covering the cost of the recent Lift Station 10 failure.
During a routine inspection on November 1, staff noticed the lift station was not operating at full capacity, and sewage pump trucks were contracted to pump the sewage.
The Town declared a state of emergency on November 4, which not only allowed the trucks to work around the clock, but also gave the Town the option to try leveraging money from the Province, which Quilty said council intends to do.
Council has extended the original state of emergency of November 4 on two more occasions — on November 8 and again on November 15.
“It is extremely unfortunate, however, due to the extreme wind and rain, the Marine Atlantic ferry crossing has been impacted, which in turn has caused delays to the repairs,” said Quilty, referring to a part that was due to be shipped in on the ferry.
Council ratified the two emergency extensions during last week’s public meeting.
The lift station experienced a similar, catastrophic failure in 2019, costing the Town well over a million dollars and prompting the construction of a new Lift Station 10 at a cost of over $23 million, about twice the initial $12.6 million price estimate.
The new lift station is expected to be commissioned in early 2025.
