Robert Comartin, President, began operating water facilities in rural Alberta in 2000. He met Trina, at a water facility in 2004 and she began working in 2006. Rob’s background is industrial electrical, instrumentation and communications, while Trina is a civil engineer who specializes in water and wastewater processes and construction/environmental engineering.
Due to growing demand for contract infrastructure operations, the pair began to work together securing operational contracts for water and wastewater utilities. With increased demand for process and design modifications in the municipal utilities sector, and with a solid footing in operations, Pure Elements was in an optimal position to offer design and engineering skills necessary for upgrades and new systems. In 2006, Pure Elements Environmental Solutions was asked to upgrade facilities damaged during 2005 flood events. Construction work began with an earth dam project in the MD of Foothills, completed on time and 25% under budget. This is the only water structure in the area that later withstood both 2008 and 2013 flood events! Process water and waste water engineering were already inherent, and with the added value from significant operational experience, demand for company’s services have grown from upgrades to new construction and projects such as water storage reservoirs, treatment facilities, assessments, lift stations, waste management services and environmental, operation, construction and engineering services. Throughout the years, the company has operated up to 30 facilities simultaneously in and around British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, successfully treating millions of cubic metres of water with a small staff of up to 22, project dependent. Facility operational experience varies from municipal systems for small communities, with only 5-50 connections, to growing communities with over 2200 connections at build-out. Industrial operational experience consists of camp applications with <10 buildings to large industrial operations successfully removing trace metals and contamination with flows of 7.2 MLD – 9.1 MLD (equivalent to a Town of 30-40,000 people or ~ 10,000 homes). |