The Town of Shaunavon has landed some major funding for a water infrastructure project.

Last week it was revealed the town was approved under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for about $840,000 to add UV disinfection technology to two wells.

Shaunavon Mayor Kyle Bennett said they've already installed this technology in five of their seven wells and this funding will help them

"I'm excited and grateful for the federal and provincial government to work with us on this water program and just looking forward to increasing our water quality," he said.

The project's estimated cost is $1.146 million; $458,534 via the federal government, $382,074 from the provincial government, and $305,727 from Shaunavon. With the winter upon southwestern Saskatchewan already, the town will push the project into 2024.

"Just so we're not going through winter construction because there is building construction, concrete, and dealing with water," he said. "It's not always the best time in winter to deal with all that kind of stuff."

Bennett said the town will send a request for proposal (RFP) on the project soon with a closing date in January. He's hoping for construction to commence in the spring.

"We're hoping that we will be able to save money on chemicals by reducing the amount of chemical that's added and should improve the quality as well because the UV light does all the disinfecting without using any chemicals," he said.

Shaunavon first added the UV technology to one of its wells in 2018 in a pilot project and after review with the Water Security Agency (WSA) and council decided to incorporate it into their other six wells for disinfection.

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