Soneera Water Canada partners with the Town of Unity

Soneera Water Canada partners with the Town of Unity

January 28, 2016

Soneera Water Canada Ltd and the Town of Unity are pleased to announce an agreement between the Town of Unity, Saskatchewan and Soneera Water to upgrade the sewage water treatment facilities for the town.

Back Row (L to R)- Councillor Terry Flaherty, Councillor Ben Weber, Councillor Brian Vanderlinde, Graeme Swinnerton (McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd.); Front Row (L to R)- Dr. Vivian Robinson, Mayor Sylvia Maljan, Darrell Behan (CEO Soneera Water).

Soneera Water will install a waste water treatment system in Unity that will deliver clean water into Sink Lake, enhancing the water quality of the existing treatment ponds. Working in concert with Saskatoon based civil engineering firm McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd, Soneera Water Canada expects to commission the system in summer 2016.

Soneera Water Canada’s CEO, Darrell Behan said:

The Town of Unity has recognized a requirement to upgrade the sewage treatment plant to facilitate growth. Soneera Water Canada Ltd offers a modular solution which can handle an 80% growth, as offered, and be economically expanded as required in the future. Soneera Water Canada wishes to thank the council and staff of Unity for the opportunity to partner with them in their efforts to grow the town.

Soneera Water is delighted to partner with the Town of Unity to introduce this exciting technology into the Canadian municipal market. The system, which utilizes electroflocculation to remove contaminants was invented, in Australia, by Dr Vivian Robinson.

Dr Robinson was present in Unity today for the official signing of the agreement.

The Memfree© technology invented by Dr Robinson has enjoyed significant acceptance in Australia and was introduced into North America in 2014. The technology behind our solution is unique, since it offers a truly ‘green’ option for the efficient treatment of waste water. The units operate without filters in the primary treatment cells. Despite that it cleans the water to nano filter level, removing all but the smallest pollutants such as salt. The automated systems are monitored remotely, removing the need for expensive maintenance or on-site monitoring. The only chemical used in the process is acid that is applied, only if required, to neutralize the ph of alkaline infeed water. No other chemicals are used in the process and electricity consumption is very low. Both of these are good for the environment.

After proving the technology in a variety of waste water verticals, Soneera Water LLC commenced marketing the product in Q4 2015 in the USA. In recognition of the importance of the Canadian market Soneera Canada Ltd was established in November 2015, with registered offices in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Geoff Hukins, Soneera Canada’s COO said:

I can’t stress how excited we are to enter this market. We have partnered with McElhanney for engineering services as the first step towards building a strong local presence. We have invited the WSA to maintain an intimate involvement with the project and have committed to openly share progress throughout the trial phase. Pursuing local manufacture will be high on our list of to-do’s as soon as we can gain critical mass to support the investment. In the interim we will look at the option of component subcontract by provincial firms.

Soneera Canada intends to support the Saskatchewan economy in repayment for the faith shown by the Town of Unity in partnering with us to introduce the technology into Canada. Darrell Behan, our CEO, will take personal responsibility for this project and the hiring of a local professional team, ready to build on the successful implementation in Unity.

We see huge potential to satisfy a need for clean waste water in the municipal market here and will commit the resources needed to meet that demand. We look forward to working with Unity, other municipalities in Saskatchewan and other parts of Canada and with Canadian firms, to improve the Canadian environment and economic growth.

Sylvia Maljan, Mayor for the Town of Unity said,

The Town of Unity is excited about the prospect of pioneering this technology in Saskatchewan. Communities such as Unity are tasked with the responsibility of considering a perpetual list of infrastructure projects to replace, or in this case, add to our municipal service assets.  We do not have the capacity to complete all of our capital requirements  without being innovative, financially prudent, and exceedingly diligent in our management of these Projects.  The Town of Unity looks forward to the development of this facility by Soneera, and wishes to thank all of our residents for their understanding and support as we embark on this next phase of infrastructure improvement.

The Town of Unity is a community of 2389 residents located in west central Saskatchewan, Canada.

For further information, contact:

Darrell Behan of Soneera Water at 1 480 570 2703,

Geoff  Hukins of Soneera Water at 1 480 570 1852 or;

Carey Baker at the Unity Town Office at 1-306-228-2621.  http://www.townofunity.com