Since 2014, the City of Martensville has been collaborating with Saskatoon on a project that would see the larger city provide water and wastewater services directly to Martensville.
Currently, Martensville gets its water from the City of Saskatoon through SaskWater and our wastewater travels through various lift stations in the community before being treated by a system of cells at the lagoon before traveling underground to the South Saskatchewan River. In the winter, the treated water (effluent) is held within the lagoon until the ground thaws in the spring.
The population of Martensville has grown in size, which means the current process is no longer viable and therefore, the City of Martensville began looking into a solution. The partnership with Saskatoon will allow for continued population growth.
In December, at the Committee of the Whole meeting, Martensville City Manager Scott Blevins spoke to Council regarding this project, noting that the two municipalities have been working on an agreement and are in the final stages. Blevins also explained that as part of this agreement, there would be a monthly fee that would be paid to SaskWater of $19,542 for the next ten years. This is something that the City of Saskatoon Council has already agreed to. These monthly fees would be in place to compensate SaskWater a portion of the loss that would occur after the project between the two communities is completed.
Martensville is currently in the phase of detailed engineering of the pipelines between Martensville and Saskatoon. “Once engineering is completed, we will be able to finalize a construction schedule. Both the City of Martensville and the City of Saskatoon are continuing to work together closely on this project and are excited about the final outcomes,” Director of Infrastructure and Planning, Matt Gruza, explained.
