01-40_WC_149_JUL-AUG26_PT - Flipbook - Page 36
INNOVATION
Turning on the Taps
SMALL TOWN IN CENTRAL ALBERTA is
repurposing older infrastructure to take on new
threats such as climate change.
The Town of Viking has recently implemented a
filtered raw water pumping station to support local
agricultural operations while reducing reliance on treated
municipal water during drought conditions. Rather than
constructing new infrastructure, the town repurposed an
existing 274-million-gallon raw water reservoir system built
in the early 1980s that had seen limited use for many years.
“We pumped the old reservoir off a natural flowing creek
just south of Viking and that was our water supply,” Viking
chief administrative officer Doug Lefsrud said. “We were
experiencing drought, the water wasn’t secured and the
reservoir levels had dropped so there was an initiative by
the county and neighbouring municipalities to go on city
water.” Currently, Edmonton is the source for the town’s
potable water.
As a result, he explained, “the system just sat there,” while
Viking retained the license to use the water for human and
industrial purposes.
Lefsrud said the idea was both to provide a source for
agricultural water use while not weighing down a potable
water source that would come under more strain as the town
expands.
“We now have a situation where we take the (raw) water
from the reservoirs, pump it through a filtered system
and its available to the farming community for spraying
and a host of other applications as well as members of the
community for gardening as well as base agricultural support
through companies in town that use it for spraying,” he said.
Raw water is both more economical than using
potable water for agriculture, he added as well as more
environmentally-friendly.
A
Warren Frey is a
freelance writer
based in Vancouver.
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WATER C AN ADA • JULY/AUGUS T 2026
“They used to suck it from the sloughs
years ago for mixed spraying and now we
have a facility where it’s clean, filtered,
and ready to go,” Lefsrud said. “The spray
program has advanced from a guy with a
tank in the back of his grain truck to full
highboys coming in (to spray).”
Drought and increasingly dry conditions
made adoption of the old plant to this
new role an appropriate use of this
infrastructure, he said.
While enquiries were made throughout the years by
interested parties about taking over the reservoir, such as
two local Hutterite colonies, no action was ever taken at a
formal level, Lefsrud said.
“So, there it sits. We have a 274-million gallon raw
water reservoir, a ten-inch pipeline into town and another
holding reservoir in town that we can drop the raw water
off to be filtered,” he said.
Lefsrud added the Town of Viking was recently approved
for an Alberta Community Partners (ACP) grant in order to
study the possible expanded use of raw water.
“Viking is on Highway 14 and 36 which is probably
the lowest spot in the surrounding area and farming is
very competitive. As a result of draining sloughs and
reworking land to optimize space, it’s created a situation
where we see considerable volumes of water come
through town,” he said.
“We’re also situated west of Thomas Lake so we have a
stormwater system, a series of ditches that take the water
from the surrounding area, which brings it into town and
then that water heads to Lake Thomas,” he added.
Using the ACP grant and via study of a holding pond,
Lefsrud said, “We’d like to keep our existing reservoir in
place but gather the water going through the system in a
pond first prior to going to the lake.”
“We feel this is a good position to be in in terms of
resiliency and preparedness for drought as well as creating
that extra resource for our agricultural community,” he
said, adding the higher volume of water would allow for
greenhouses and other enhanced agricultural capabilities.
WATERCANADA.NE T
Town of Viking
Town of Viking, Alta. gives old reservoir a new lease on life BY WARREN FREY
