By Cheryl Long
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T
he largest construction project ever
undertaken by SaskWater, Saskatche-
wan’s commercial Crown water utility,
is well on its way to completion, poised to sup-
ply seven million cubic metres of water annu-
ally to a new potash mine under development
near Jansen, SK.
The massive undertaking will carry water from
Zelma Reservoir along the Saskatoon South-
east Water Supply System (SSEWSS) to the BHP
Billiton mine site, which is anticipated to pro-
duce up to 10 million tons of potash per year.
It’s also expected that the 94-kilometre pipe-
line will enhance water availability to commu-
nities along the route.
Tim Jansen is Manager of Major Projects for
SaskWater and is leading the $141-million proj-
ect, which began as an idea back in 2008 when
the utility company was approached by BHP
Billiton, an Australia-based global resources
organization. The company was looking for a
water supplier for their proposed potash mine,
located approximately 140 kilometres east of
Saskatoon. SaskWater provides professional
water and wastewater services to 63 commu-
nities, eight rural municipalities, 83 rural pipe-
line groups, 16 industrial and approximately
236 commercial and end user customers. But
overseeing a project of this magnitude was go-
ing to take the organization to a new level.
“We currently are worth somewhere close to
$300 million with our assets so this is a signifi-
cant increase to our asset makeup,” Jansen ex-
JAN/FEB 2015
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