Estimated cost to replace Canada water pipeline nearly doubled since last year

According to CBC Canada News, the estimated cost of replacing an aging water pipeline for the city of Yellowknife has nearly doubled in less than one year.

Consulting firm AECOM presented a report to the city council earlier this week outlining the project costs. The latest report shows a new pipeline will cost up to $107.7 million, up almost double from the 2024 estimate of $62.7 million, and tripled from the initial 2017 estimate of $34.5 million.

Detailed upgrade designs for pumphouses and replacement of the pipeline are said to be the reason for the price jump, according to CBC Canada News.  

The city of Yellowknife has relied on an eight-kilometer pipeline to draw water from the Yellowknife River since 1968. The Yellowknife Bay was previously used as a primary water source until concerns about arsenic contamination were raised, prompting the switch.

The report presented options and associated costs between keeping Yellowknife River as the primary source and replacing the pipeline, or switching to Yellowknife Bay and conducting a study to evaluate potential arsenic risk, which would be considerably cheaper, AECOM stated.

 

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