Councillor: Treatment plant security risk can't be ignored

A city councillor says security measures coming to the Saskatoon water treatment plant are a sign of the times.
 
Ward 5 councillor Randy Donauer told 650 CKOM’s Brent Loucks he undestands why some residents are uspet with a plan to close off the intersection of Avenue H South and 11th Street West in order to build a wall around the facility.
 
Donauer said he heard those concerns loud and clear at a Tuesday evening council meeting on the issue.
 
“A lot of people accused (council) of overreacting and I don’t think any of us feel that any kind of bizarre terrorist threat is impending,” he said.
 
However, Donauer pointed out the move to wall off the treatment plant comes after Public Safety Canada raised a number of concerns about security at the site, particularly the fact a public road runs right through it.
 
“One of the things they talked about is, right now, there’s a long run down 11th where, basically, if someone wanted to pop right through one of the walls of the water treatment plant, they could,” he said.
 
Donauer said there was no way council could ignore the warning.
 
“When you’re aware of a risk, you’re expected to take a reasonable amount of effort to accomodate that risk,” he said.
 
Donauer added that a quick look at recent headlines should convince people anything is possible, even if it seems unlikely to us now.
 
“I think if five years ago, you would have told me that we would have a bomb go off at provincial court in Saskatoon and that our hazmat unit would scramble a dozen times in the past three or four months to deal with white powder being delivered to residents in Saskatoon, I would have laughed at you and told you ‘that’ll never happen,'” he said.
 
Along with the closure at Avenue H and 11th Street, the city will also be closing Spadina Crescent at the Gordie Howe Bridge. Donauer explained that this move was meant to prevent people from cutting through the Holiday Park neighbourhood.
 
Donauer said the road closures were expected to come into effect in the next few weeks. From there, he said a wall will go up on three sides of the treatment plant over the next few years. An existing fence on the river-facing side of the plant will be left as-is.
 
Donauer said there is already a security guard at the plant, but a gate will be added to further secure the facility.