Rosebud residents optimistic for wastewater solution

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Rosebud residents can see an end in sight to hauling their wastewater out to Olds for treatment thanks to an environmentally-friendly Symbiotic Envirotek system.
Symbiotic Envirotek is a microalgae wastewater treatment solution that produces algal biomass that can be sold for a number of different applications including food and non-food products.
Rosebud resident LaVerne Erickson has been pleased with the steps being taken to have this project built in Rosebud and thinks the right measures have been taken to have it installed.
“We took the position that we wanted it, (we) drafted it and gave it to Wheatland County so that they understand we are working together in this community as a team,” said Erickson.
“We are unanimously in support of it. The only other option we had is we pump it out into a lagoon and that’s not really environmentally sensitive at all. That’s what other communities had to do and they had to buy farmland. You can’t farm the land if it’s covered in wastewater. When water is so short, it’s a sensitive resource; we want to see something that we can recycle and turning it into something that’s productive.”
Three groups are doing the background work on the project, including one group looking after the aesthetic look of the project, while a second group is looking to incorporate it into the Parks and Recreation plan because of the amount of water that is being discharged.
The third group will be looking at the finances to buy services to treat the water but to also be an owner in the system.
Erickson mentioned that the current wastewater issue has not changed anybody’s lifestyle due to Wheatland County’s effort in purchasing a pumper truck to haul the wastewater out.
“Our field is functioning to a certain degree here,” said Erickson.
“When it can’t keep up, they pump the excess into the pumper truck to another location in the county and treat it there.”
The Symbiotic Envirotek project was the most environmentally-friendly option with the possibility of providing a platform for the community to go off the grid in different areas.
Additionally, if all goes well with the Rosebud Project, Wheatland County councillors will take an interest in spreading it to their other areas.
“Instead of wasting the product that comes out, it goes into a lagoon, it gets recycled into something that might have monetary value,” he said.
He added, the project will help the community become greener because it enhances the look of the lagoon and will help with the water supply to other natural products.
“First it looks nicer,” said Erickson.
“Starting in the spring we plant flowers all over town, we keep our grass green and plant trees. We’ve been averaging in the last five years between 50 to 100 new trees. We need the water resources to do that. They say ‘environmentally friendly’ there is a possibility in the future of recycling this water so it could be used for our greenhouse development here in Rosebud.”
The challenge he sees with the project is the work and volunteer energy that will be needed to complete the wastewater treatment system.
The Rosebud Centre of the Arts is the largest consumer of water in the area and will be affected by the chosen system no matter what, and will explore all avenues of possibilities.
“As a non- profit charitable organization, it’s highly unlikely we’ll invest back into the program,” said Adam Furfaro, Rosebud Centre of the Arts executive director.
“The only way we can possibly see some sort of investment is if we invest land or if we invest in some sort of facility space so that we have some sort of input in what’s going on. But other than that I don’t think we can become one of the investors.”
Furfaro said that what they’re interested in is they are in need of a wastewater management system in place because it’s holding up the area’s future development.
With the ongoing situation, the houses can’t be completed in the neighbourhood for staff, and they are unable to get new residences in for students.
“We have a serious situation where staff members are travelling from Three Hills, Strathmore and Drumheller,” said Furfaro.
“It’s hard to maintain staff without having space. The resolution of the problem is ultimately the most important thing. I see a great potential for the hamlet to benefit from the harvesting of the algae. I think that’s a great thing for residents.”
He added that they are grateful for the Wheatland County’s efforts in resolving the issue and they will work with them with whatever space they need to complete the project.