Eighteen months and nearly $1 million later, the pumping station on Greenbrook Drive in Kitchener is just about ready to reopen.
It’s been closed since April 2014, when an explosion tore off part of the building’s roof.
An investigation found that the cause of the explosion was human error – a contractor accidentally pumped a chemical into the wrong tank, causing a reaction.
Since the explosion, the Region of Waterloo has made changes to how it stores chemicals.
The Greenbrook station is one of eight regional sites where different types of chemicals, that can react if combined, are stored.
New cabinets have been installed outside those sites to filling stations for the different chemicals.
Separate keys will also be used for each cabinet.
“Different groups will hold those keys, so there’s no mixing up of the keys,” said regional supervisor Tim Walton.
“Basically what we’re looking at is trying to remove the potential for human error.”
The Greenbrook station is expected to be back online by the end of the month.
Its lengthy downtime hasn’t had a significant effect on the region’s water distribution system, Walton said.
