A few years ago when the Peace region’s economy was booming, there were lineups all day at Aquatera’s bulk water stations. While the number of users is down to about 1,000, the company has still been dealing with long wait times at its location in the Richmond Industrial Park. ‘
As a solution, a new location on 97th Avenue at 121st Street has been built to replace it. CEO Bernd Manz argues it’s in a key location in the Centre West Industrial Park.
“Because we’re on some major transportation corridors, and so those trucks that are going outside the community can easily access this through those major roadways and get on their way.”
The new location cost $2.6 million dollars and has been in the works for the past year. The old one was built almost 30 years ago, and Manz says it was due to be retired.
“It was a priority for us because we were getting queuing issues; it was creating backlogs; there were extended wait times to get water, and then in the winter we had all kinds of freeze up problems with water icing up on the roadway. From both a safety and a customer convenience perspective, this is a huge improvement.”
The station can service five trucks at a time, with five in line and a designated water haulers only lane. It also has a heated pad to avoid ice build up, but customers should note it does not accept coins as payment.
The bulk water stations in the north and Sexsmith remain in operation.