Buffalo Pound water treatment plant celebrates 70 years of history

The Buffalo Pound water treatment plant is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2025. (Damian Smith/CTV News)

The Buffalo Pound water treatment plant is celebrating 70 years of supplying fresh water for over 300,00 people in southern Saskatchewan.

Some have seen it grow into a 40-person operation, vital for urban and rural communities.

“We’d come over the hill and down into the valley and was like, ‘Oh, there’s Buffalo Pound’ and all the fun that we were going to have,” said Blaine McLeod, the Saskatchewan Party MLA for Lumsden-Morse. “But as I’ve grown up now, the water for my dairy farm, the potable water supply comes from this location.”

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Fast forward to today, Ryan Johnson, the CEO of the Buffalo Pound water treatment plant, always had the plant circled on his calendar.

“When I was in university, as an environmental engineering student, we came out here to do a tour, and that was the first time we got to see the plant and walk through it,” he said. “At that point, I had visions of working here, but I wanted to work in a place where I know all my time and effort matter.”

The plant supplies water to communities as far west as Mortlach, east to Sedley, south to Briercrest, and as far north as Bethune.

“In other jobs, your priorities can change day-to-day. Our priority has always been to produce safe water and it doesn’t change from day-to-day. So, even during COVID, other people had troubles with their jobs. We still have to be here,” said Johnson.

The areas benefitting the most from this plant are the cities of Regina, with over 60 kilometres of pipes, and Moose Jaw, with 20 kilometres.

“We just take it for granted that possibly just the simple turning on of a tap,” said James Murdock, the mayor of Moose Jaw. “We have a necessity of life, but one doesn’t really have the full appreciation of what all has to come together for that to happen.”

“We have very high standards for who we hire for staff here,” said Johnson. “You’ll either be a water technologist, or a red seal, trades or mill rates. Now, we have professional chemists on staff because we run our labs, and we are certified in accredited laboratories. So, we’re able to do our own self-assessments and testing of certain materials on our own.”

The plant is currently under a renewal which will last for at least another 25 years, in which water will continue to be delivered in the surrounding areas.