Timmins council is meeting in-camera next week to talk about pumping station 4 in Porcupine.
A notice about the closed meeting was issued today. The meeting is happening on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at 5 p.m., ahead of the scheduled regular council meeting at 6 p.m.
The notice says the meeting is to talk about an item that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.
Right now, when the wastewater system's capacity in the city's east end is exceeded, raw sewage is pumped into Porcupine Lake.
A two-phase project to remediate the system started in 2014.
Upgrading the system is required for the city to meet a Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) director’s order.
Ground-settling and legal issues have contributed to work on phase one — building Pumping Station 4 on Highway 101 just east of the Whitney arena — not being completed yet.
Phase two was to upgrade the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation systems, along with other work, at the remaining five pump stations. That was completed in 2020.
At Pumping Station 4, micropiling (a structural element used when there are difficult ground conditions) work began September 2020. In the spring, about 90 per cent of the piles were in place, however, the drilling crew was facing water issues because of the aquifer.
A section of the Prospectors Trail behind the pumping station has been closed recently for work at the site.
According to city notices, the closures have been to connect the new pumping station to existing infrastructure and that the work is necessary before the final commissioning of the plant.
