Wheatland County to construct new sewage lagoon near Rosebud

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County has moved two steps closer to constructing a new wastewater facility to service Rosebud.
On April 14, Wheatland County Municipal Planning Commission approved the development permit and title subdivision required for the construction of a new municipal sewage lagoon to service the Hamlet of Rosebud, in separate motions.
The facility will be constructed on a 16-hectare parcel west of Rosebud.
On Feb. 4, the parcel was predesignated to Public Utility (PU) District, which are lands that “accommodate the utilities required to service public and private facilities, businesses and residences within the county.”
Currently, Rosebud has a low-pressure wastewater system, with about 50 per cent of its wastewater output being discharged into a septic field, while the remainder is hauled to the Cluny wastewater lagoon, according to Wheatland County planner Graham Allison.
“The existing septic system can no longer sufficiently service the population of Rosebud and hauling wastewater to Gleichen is not an efficient long-term solution,” said Allison in a written statement. “This project will provide adequate servicing to support the needs of Rosebud’s residents and businesses, and will accommodate future growth in the hamlet.”
Wastewater from Rosebud will move to the facility via a sanitary force main. The sewage lagoon discharge will then travel to an outfall in the Rosebud River.
A semi-permanent marsh was identified during a required wetland assessment conducted at the site in April 2019. However, the feature will not be impacted directly by the proposed facility, and a stormwater management plan was submitted to outline ways to maintain site drainage and limit indirect impacts on the wetland, such as sedimentation.
The project timeline is now “mostly dependent” on funding from the province and attaining environmental approvals, according to Allison, with the county currently in the process of obtaining all approvals, agreements and tender information to proceed with construction once notification from the province is received.
Construction is planned to start in the summer of 2020 and will take about 150 days to complete.