The Municipal District of Lesser Slave River council has approved an unbudgeted $62,510 to fix a broken diesel fire pump at the Canyon Creek water treatment plant.
The decision comes as the unexpected equipment failure leaves the local water distribution network vulnerable during emergency responses. The repair funds will be pulled directly from the municipality’s 2026 operating surplus.
According to administration, the repairs will take approximately 10 weeks to complete. During this waiting period, the community water system will rely on regular treated water pumps. This means the community could face reduced water pressure if local fire crews need to draw a massive amount of water from the hydrants to fight a major blaze.
The pump failure has also forced municipal staff to delay routine maintenance across the utility system. System flushing, a preventative process used to clear out the water mains, cannot be completed right now and will be deferred until after the fall.
During the Sept. 23 regular meeting, the situation sparked a discussion about whether it was time to abandon the old diesel technology altogether. Councillor Norm Seatter suggested replacing the broken diesel pump with a brand new electrical one immediately, rather than sinking more than $60,000 into repairing the old, loud unit.
Administration noted that an electric fire pump would cost roughly $120,000, which is nearly double the price of the proposed repair. It was also confirmed that an electric pump would run smoothly on the plant’s existing backup generator during power outages.
However, chief administrative officer Kevin Gannon and municipal staff warned that the municipality simply cannot afford to wait.
“We are sitting right now without fire protection,” the administration told the council.
Staff explained that waiting to procure and install a completely new electric pump as part of future plant upgrades would leave the community exposed to fire risks for far too long.
Gannon also advised against simply leaving the broken diesel unit sitting around to be salvaged for spare parts later. He noted that machinery naturally degrades over time, and keeping broken equipment as a backup strategy could mean trying to repair broken parts with other broken parts down the road.
Faced with the immediate safety risk, council agreed that restoring emergency readiness was the top priority. Reeve Murray Kerik made the motion to proceed with the $62,510 repair, which was carried unanimously by council.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter