Officials in Viking, Alta., hope a raw filtered water project will help put local farmers on a better footing for dry times
Glacier FarmMedia – The town of Viking in central Alberta is ready if the tap turns off again in 2024.
This time, if drought rears its ugly head, local farmers will be able to fill their agricultural needs from a new raw water pumping station, built with the town’s existing infrastructure.
The town celebrated its new layer of drought protection during a grand opening in late April. It had taken three months for the project to come to fruition.
Read Also
Man charged after assault at grain elevator
RCMP have charged a 51-year-old Weyburn man after an altercation at the Pioneer elevator at Corinne, Sask. July 22.
“Back in the early 1950s, we had a reservoir in town and we used to treat water for the residents of Viking,” said Doug Lefsrud, the town’s chief administrative officer.
The system expanded in the early 1980s. Two water cells were established about 20 kilometres south of town, capable of holding up to 227 million gallons of water. They owed their recharge to rainfall and from the Iron Creek that flows through the region.
But in the 2000s, available water from the system dropped dangerously low. Nor was Viking the only community having the problem. The story echoed across other municipalities along Highway 14.
The municipalities kicked off an initiative to access Edmonton area city water.
Currently, town residents get their potable water from Epcor out of Strathcona county.
Despite the change, Viking kept its water infrastructure and maintained it water licence in case local water was needed for firefighting or other emergencies.
In 2023, Lefsrud approached the town council and asked if the infrastructure could be repurposed to help the region deal with drought.
“Last year, council wasn’t really interested,” he said.
That changed last fall as Albertans began to talk more seriously about water, water availability and drought. Lefsrud approached council again, and it began to talk about how to help farmers in the event of a drought.
“We’re trying to get ahead. We want to give an alternative to anybody that might need water,” said Lefsrud.
“In the event of a water restriction, the first thing that gets shut off are all the big truck fills. We looked at that and looked at what our options would be to pull that water off of our reservoir systems.”
Viking’s above-ground reservoir was set up with a dual-pumping system station that filters raw water. Water from the two water cells travels to the town reservoir through a pipeline. An above-ground suction line then draws water off the top of the reservoir into the filter system, which removes particles from the water.
That filtration was one of the major concerns, said Lefsrud. Filtration is necessary for today’s farming equipment. If the water is not filtered well, it could have a negative effect on expensive equipment, while poor-quality water can rob herbicides of their effectiveness if the water is used for spraying.
Farmers, or any other resident interested in sourcing raw water from the reservoir, can set up an account number. When they arrive at the fill station, they punch in their code and fill their tanks. At the end of the month, data is downloaded and billing is processed electronically.
The system uses two companies: FlowPoint and Lotic Technologies. FlowPoint provides the computer program that measures water volumes sold and calculates data for billing. Lotic Technologies is the filter company.
The town of Viking invested about $350,000 to $375,000 to set up the fill site, buy the equipment and assemble the system.
The project has drawn attention both locally and in the wider region. The town council sent a letter to Rebecca Schulz, minister of environment and protected areas, to inform her about the project. The region’s provincial and federal political representatives have also noted the value of the project.
“Our agricultural community has been supportive. They appreciate the resource. Currently, we’ve sold about 25 codes,” said Lefsrud.
The water is available to everyone within a 100-kilometre radius. Residents of Minburn County, Flagstaff County, Wainwright County and Beaver County attended the open house.
“Folks from those areas are looking at water options. Those farmers are some of the folks that have applied for water,” Lefsrud said.
Viking’s project has since inspired other municipalities. The village of Holden is considering a similar project for its area. The smaller community may not have the necessary funding, however, and will likely need to look at things like grant applications to make up the gap.
“They have been basically sitting on their reservoir infrastructure since going on city water. They’re looking at this as well,” said Lefsrud.
He added that the Viking project is an example of what can be done using existing infrastructure.
“We were sitting on the resource and the infrastructure here and just thought about what we can do to help mitigate drought if a pending drought is on its way.”
