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A new reservoir under construction in northeastern Saskatoon is close to completion and is now expected to be operational by the fall.

The Northeast Reservoir project has been underway since September 2021. The $56.8 million project is intended to enhance Saskatoon’s ability to provide a sufficient water supply to new neighbourhoods that are growing in size in that part of the city.

Russ Munro, director of Saskatoon Water, reports the Northeast Reservoir will have a total capacity of 43 million litres.

“The water will be partially stored underground, and the site will include a pump station surrounded by grass and trees,” he says.

Once operational, he continues, the Northeast Reservoir will collect and store water from the city’s water treatment plant and distribute it to the surrounding neighbourhoods of Evergreen, Aspen Ridge and Willowgrove, complementing the water delivery provided by two other reservoirs in the northwestern and eastern parts of Saskatoon.

While the reservoir was supposed to be operational by this spring, Munro points out delays were caused on the one hand by severe weather during the winter of 2022-23 and, on the other hand, by the fact Saskatoon is built on a geological base of boulders, deposits of the last Ice Age.

Overall, he reports, construction went well.

“There were some changes in the design to the electrical systems to allow for better co-ordination throughout the processes,” he points out.  “We also chose to install LED lighting.”

As well, thermal couples were embedded in the concrete during the pour to ensure proper setting even when pouring concrete in the winter, allowing an accelerated schedule, Munro notes.

On completion, the reservoir will have two separate chambers so that, when one is offline for maintenance, the reservoir can continue to operate without any shutdown.

Munro notes AECOM was the reservoir designer while PCL ��������ion was the contractor.