About This Page

This page and information is for those that live in the immediate area of our water treatment plant. It is about impacts from demolition and construction during treatment plant improvements.

For general information please go to the Plant Improvement section of the Our Work page.

Updates

Project updates will be posted here throughout the duration of the project.

May 2, 2023 Update

Upcoming Severe Weather Drills

The construction team on site is firmly committed to the safety of everyone on the project and in the area of the project. We’re pleased to share that we recently surpassed 100,000 hours of labor on the project without any lost-time injuries.

Part of ensuring that workers on site are safe in any circumstance is preparing for any severe weather events. To that effect, the construction team will be doing a severe weather drill on May 3, 2023 around 11:45 am. To begin the drill, the construction team plans to issue three blasts from an air horn on the site. Neighbors may hear these blasts and observe workers evacuating the site.

This should not be cause for concern for neighbors as this is a planned event focused on preparing for severe weather.

A Look Ahead at Summer 2023

With the winter season coming to an end, we wanted to provide another update to neighbors of the McCarron’s Water Treatment Plant. We’re looking forward to the onset of warm weather and returning to warm-weather construction.

This summer will be very busy on site, but it should be considerably less disruptive to neighbors than the previous summer. During the summer of 2022 demolition work and sheet piling driving were undoubtedly the noisiest activities. There is no significant demolition work or sheet piling driving on the schedule for this summer.

Generally, this summer’s work will primarily be focused on installing rebar, pouring concrete, setting precast panels in place, and installing pipework. Noise levels on the site should be fairly consistent to what they were throughout the winter months as these activities are generally fairly quiet. Of course, there will continue to be the run-of-the-mill construction noises (backup beepers, dump trucks, etc.) coming from the site. Visual impacts on neighbors are likely to be more noticeable than audible impacts. As you may have noted, there are three cranes operating on the site at present. At least two cranes will be active on the site for most of the summer.

Construction on the new facility is approximately 25% complete. Throughout the summer, work at the site will continue to be primarily exterior work (pouring concrete, etc.) When we get closer to the 50% complete mark, much of the work will begin to move into the interiors of the structures, causing less noise and visual impact for neighbors.

A Note on the Crane on Site

I’ve been in touch with some of the neighbors to the site regarding the large tower crane, and I’ve heard neighbors express concerns that the crane swings towards the neighborhood sometimes at night and over the weekend. If you share this concern, you may find the information below helpful.

During high winds, the crane will rotate so that it points in the direction of the wind (this is called weathervaning). This minimizes wind loads on the crane, which minimizes the risk of damage to the crane. Of course, tower cranes are always designed with an extreme abundance of caution. The risk of wind damage is miniscule; nonetheless precautions are taken wherever opportunities exist. Allowing the crane to weathervane during high winds is one such precaution; the chance of wind damage is already very low, and allowing the crane to weathervane reduces it even further.

If you're observing the crane rotating in the evenings and over the weekends, you're actually observing a feature that is designed to keep everyone around the tower crane safe. It may not feel that way, and, I can understand how it might make neighbors feel nervous. Knowing that it's a safety feature, however, I couldn't advise in good conscience that the construction team follow any other practice.

We are currently investigating the possibility of modifying the crane such that it only weathervanes when wind speeds exceed a certain threshold. If this can be done practically, we will add this feature. Doing so would reduce “nuisance” instances of weathervaning and would limit weathervaning of the crane to only when wind speeds generate meaningful loads on the crane.

Virtual Open House

The virtual open house was held on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. A recording of the virtual open house is available below:

Much of the information presented in the first open house can also be found in this set of posters (PDF - 2.8MB).

Letters

Below are copies of the letters we've sent thus far:

March 2022 Letter (PDF - 1.07 MB)

December 2021 Letter (PDF - 76 KB)

August 2021 Letter (PDF - 536 KB) 

Project Overview

An overview of some of the most important project details.

Timeline

March - May 2022 – Tree removals and some small-scale activities on site (i.e. moving small equipment, etc.)
May 2022 – Stage 1 demolition work begins
Fall - Winter 2022 – New facility construction work begins
Winter 2025 – Stage 2 demolition work begins
Mid-2026 – Project is complete

Please see the sections below for more information on each of these activities. The project schedule is subject to change as countless factors influence the rate of progress.

Impacts on Neighbors

As noted in the letter that we mailed in August 2021, neighboring properties are expected to experience impacts from the work, including:

  • Traffic – You may encounter some construction traffic on Larpenteur Avenue, Roselawn Avenue, Sylvan Street, and Rice Street near your home.
  • Noise – Depending upon proximity to the site, you are likely to hear construction noise when you are outdoors and/or when you have your windows open. During particularly noisy construction activities, neighbors located close to the property may also be able to hear the project even with their windows closed.
  • Visual Impacts – Depending upon proximity to the site, you may be able to see the construction and demolition work as it occurs. As noted above, many trees on site will be removed, so views of the property will be meaningfully altered for neighbors.

Work Hours

SPRWS anticipates that most work will be accomplished during the following working hours: Monday to Friday from 7:00 am - 5:30 pm.

Occasionally, work may need to be pushed into evening hours or weekend hours if unexpected circumstances are encountered. Existing noise ordinances allow for work to be performed Monday to Saturday from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm.

Generally, work will only be planned outside of the stated hours if it is expected to be quiet or if it must be accomplished at night due to extenuating circumstances.

We understand that these are your evenings and your weekends, and we have every intention of ensuring that we limit impacts as much as possible during these sensitive times.

Demolition of Facilities

Many existing facilities will be demolished as part of this project. Demolition work will be completed in two stages as shown in the graphic below. In general, demolition work will be the noisiest part of the project. Most of the structures that will be demolished are large, below-ground facilities. Our team continues to work through details of the demolition plan to minimize impacts on neighbors.

Map showing SPRWS facilities to be demolished during stage 1 and stage 2
Map showing SPRWS facilities to be demolished during stage 1 and stage 2

Stage 1 Demolition will take place from summer through winter of 2022. The demolition of these facilities will free up space to build the new facilities. Overall, this demolition work is expected to take 7 months.

Stage 2 Demolition will take place after the new facilities are fully constructed and operational. This work is likely to occur in the winter of 2025. Overall, this demolition work is expected to take 10 months.

New Facility Construction

New facilities will be constructed on the northeast portion of the site. Ultimately, much of the construction will be below-ground and will not be visible once the project is completed. There will, however, be numerous above-ground facilities constructed as well. The graphic below provides a sense of the locations and scales of the facilities that we plan to construct.

Overview graphic showing models of new above ground facilities and areas where underground facilities will be located
Overview graphic showing models of new above ground facilities and areas where underground facilities will be located

Last Edited: May 2, 2023