Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation is Celebrating the Water Treatment Plant’s 70th Anniversary

Regina, Moose Jaw (Tuesday November 18, 2025) - The Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation is celebrating 70 years of delivering quality, safe and reliable water delivery to southern Saskatchewan.

Today Lumsden Morse MLA Blaine McLeod on behalf of the Government of Saskatchewan, Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski, Moose Jaw Mayor James Murdock, along with Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation Board Chair Patricia Warsaba and CEO Ryan Johnson officially unveiled a plaque commemorating the event.

“This is a major accomplishment! We all need to be extremely proud of the work that was done in building this plant to deliver water to nearly 25 per cent of Saskatchewan residents. We also need to recognize the work of so many Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant staff over the past 70 years who worked diligently to ensure residents in Southern Saskatchewan continued to have safe, quality, reliable water,” said Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation Board Chair Patricia Warsaba.

The plant currently supplies water to the Cities of Regina and Moose Jaw, SaskWater, and the Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, as well as to many communities in the Region, extending as far west as Mortlach, as far east as Sedley, as far south as Briercrest and as far north as Bethune. In total BPWTC supplies water to over 300,000 people within the region.

The BPWTP was commissioned in 1951 following extensive work with the federal and provincial governments, and the Cities of Regina and Moose Jaw. It began producing water in September,1954. The plant draws water from Buffalo Pound Lake, a shallow man-made reservoir on the Qu'Appelle River. Water levels in Buffalo Pound Lake are maintained by the release of water from the Qu'Appelle Dam on Lake Diefenbaker.

Over its lifetime, the Plant has been a leader in the delivery of high-quality drinking water. It has received numerous Water Quality Awards and has made significant progress in improving the quality of water provided to its customers. It was one of the first plants in Canada to pioneer the use of the Granular Activated Carbon filtration process for the removal of algae-produced taste and odour. The Corporation’s quality water successes are due in large part to the water treatment expertise of its employees.

The Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant has undergone three major capacity and process improvements since its original construction. In 2018, the Provincial and Federal governments committed $20.6 million in grant funds under the Provincial Territorial Infrastructure Component (PTIC) of the New Building Canada Fund for upgrading of the electrical systems, and provision of back up power, at the Plant.

The plant is currently undergoing a renewal that will enable it to continue delivering water for at least the next 25 years and ensure the Corporation is able to meet its mandate long into the future.

In June of 2020, the Corporation announced the awarding of the Plant Renewal Design Contract, and on June 8, 2021, federal and provincial funding of $163.4M was announced for work on the Plant Renewal Project, under the Investing In Canada Infrastructure Program.

The Government of Canada has invested more than $89.13 million, the Government of Saskatchewan has provided more than $74.26 million toward the project's eligible costs, and the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation, owned by the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw, is responsible for any additional costs.

The Renewal Project is a substantial renovation of the water treatment plant which includes some renovations and some new construction, with the re-use of much of the plant’s former facilities and infrastructure.

“It’s exciting to be celebrating such an important milestone, while we are completing a renovation that will take this critically important facility to its 100th anniversary,” said BPWTC CEO, Ryan Johnson. “I want to thank both the Government of Saskatchewan and the Government of Canada for their commitment to ensuring the residents of Regina, Moose Jaw and area will continue to receive quality, safe and reliable water for many years to come.”