Town utility crews and municipal contractors in Slave Lake have started annual preventative maintenance across local water and sewer networks, preparing critical underground infrastructure for the arrival of freezing winter temperatures.
Chief Administrative Officer Alex Pavcek outlined the seasonal utility operations and capital infrastructure progress during the town council’s Sept. 8 regular meeting as part of a broader municipal report.
The municipal work includes systematically flushing and winterizing fire hydrants throughout town, cleaning sand and heavy solids out of sanitary sewer mains, and completing final testing to tie residents into a newly replaced water main on the southeast side of the community.
A written municipal operations report presented to council says utility personnel have begun seasonal hydrant maintenance to protect the town’s drinking water distribution system and ensure emergency firefighting equipment functions properly during extreme cold.
Crews are systematically flushing hydrants by starting in the northern industrial subdivisions and working their way southward through residential neighbourhoods.
The flushing process moves large volumes of water through the pipes at high velocity, scouring the interior walls of water lines to remove naturally occurring mineral deposits, sediment, and stagnant water that accumulate over time.
Once flushed, the hydrants are pumped out and winterized to ensure no standing water remains trapped inside the barrels above the frost line, preventing mechanical components from freezing and cracking during sub-zero temperatures.
Alongside the drinking water network, town crews are conducting preventative maintenance across municipal sewer lines.
The written report says utility workers are deploying specialized flushing trucks to clear sewer mainlines throughout Slave Lake, using high-pressure water jets to break up and remove sand, sediment, and accumulated solid matter.
Crews are giving specific attention to Main Street, local industrial parks, corridors with a high concentration of commercial restaurants where grease can accumulate, and the northeast sector where active line replacement work is taking place.
In addition to routine line maintenance, municipal utility staff have been assisting contractors with major underground infrastructure replacements that are nearing the finish line.
A written projects report provided to council says contractors completed the installation of a new water main along 11th Avenue SE on Aug. 21.
Crews have been actively flushing the newly installed pipe, conducting required pressure tests, checking curb-cock service valves, and verifying mainline valves to ensure the line is watertight and meets provincial drinking water standards.
Alex said during the meeting that town staff have assisted with on-site testing and system coordination, with residents on 11th Avenue SE scheduled to be cut over from the temporary supply to the brand-new water main during the week of Sept. 7.
Contractors are also making progress on a sanitary sewer main replacement running along an alleyway in the northeast section of town. The written administrative report says excavation and pipe installation work is underway, with the entire replacement expected to be completed by the week of Sept. 21.
Alex said municipal public works crews are balancing utility work with general fall site maintenance across town facilities. Staff have been grading alleys to level high gravel ridges, cleaning up the grass disposal area and managing tree branches at the local recycling depot, and applying yellow paint to traffic islands, curbs, and school crosswalks.
Following the presentation of the operations update, Councillor Cindy Williams made a motion to accept the report as information, which council carried unanimously.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter