City council approves $650k for ‘urgent’ sewer system repairs

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — City council has approved more than $650,000 in “urgent” repairs to part of Fort St. John’s sewer system.

During the City of Fort St. John council meeting on August 11th, a tender award was approved for work on the Garrison Lift Station.

A lift station, otherwise known as a pumping station, pumps wastewater from lower elevations to higher elevations so it can use gravity to transport wastewater to a treatment plant. 

The repairs are being conducted out of cycle with the city’s 2025 capital budget, and according to a staff report submitted to council, the work is “urgently” needed due to “performance deterioration” at the station.

A request for tender was issued on July 10th and closed on July 24th, with council ultimately awarding the project to S. Young Enterprises, a general contractor based in Fort St. John. 

The company submitted a tender price of $536,793.28 and an engineering quote of $114,500, for a total cost of $651,293.28. The proposed budget for the project was noted by staff to be $675,000.

The funding comes from the re-allocation of Sewer Reserve Funds from two under-budget projects; the installation of a sewer main in Mathew Park and a sewer main replacement on 112th Street. 

The report did not include any details regarding when the work would take place, with staff noting construction would begin “as soon as possible.”