Star file photo
The plan to take water from wells atop Marble Mountain to flow down to the town of Steady Brook will soon come to fruition.
Coun. Matt Wells posted on his Facebook page Wednesday that everything was in place for construction to begin on the three wells on top of Marble Mountain that will supply the town with water.
“This has been a long time coming — several years — but with some very focused efforts over the past year or so we’re happy that it’s finally come to fruition,” said Wells, a member of the town’s public works committee.
Based on the positive results of a test drill in 2011 the town started working on a plan to drill more wells to supply the town with water.
The province approved $391,000 for the project in 2013, but it has since been fraught with delays.
“It feels like it’s been almost like a game of pinball: the object just bouncing around from Municipal Affairs, to engineers, to architects, to the town,” said Wells.
As per the plan outlined by the town over three years ago, three wells will be drilled with one to serve as the primary water source and the other to act as secondary sources.
“The dynamic is turned on its head,” said Wells of the difference in how the town will get its water.
The current source of water for the town is a surface supply that comes from Steady Brook Lake, while the new system will be via artesian wells drilled in the rock. Once the new supply is hooked up, the current one will be maintained to serve as a backup and for fire protection.
While the recent provincial budget brought some concerns over the money that would be available to municipalities, Wells said the additional funding to meet the cost increases that have occurred since 2013 have been secured.
The total cost of the project is $589,609.14 and that will be split on a 90-10 percentage basis between the province and the town.
Equipment for the construction of the wells should be brought into the area within the next two weeks and Pittman’s Enterprises of St. Paul’s, contractor for the project, is expected to begin work Aug. 8. It is expected to take between 60 and 90 days to complete.
Now that the project is finally set to start, one person who couldn’t be happier is Coun. Claude Wilton.
Wilton has been active in trying to solve the town’s water woes for years and was one of the believers that water could be found on the top of the mountain.
“A lot of people didn’t want to go ahead with it,” said Wilton of the idea to look for water on the mountain.
He said he and former councillor Rob Perry went out on a limb, and he’s happy it was a success.
