County forming water partnership

Times Contributor

 

Council voted to support the Wheatland Regional Water Partnership (WRWP), so they can obtain a grant to develop a governance study.

The partnership is made of representatives from Rockyford, Standard, Hussar and Wheatland County. The WRWP may also contact others who have opted out of the Calgary Regional Water Partnership. The CRWP members include: Black Diamond, Calgary, Canmore, Chestermere, Cochrane, Crossfield, High River, Irricana, Nanton, Okotoks, Redwood Meadows, Strathmore, and Turner Valley.

“The partnership will give the region a voice in the provincial discussions regarding water allocations. We are looking for the best option to address our water needs,” said Mike Ziehr, Wheatland County Municipal Engineering Technologist and Development Officer.

The county wants to be proactive by protecting the region’s interests, yet ensuring they will have a voice in future provincial water allotment processes.

“With no support from Calgary, we will build our own water treatment plant. The direction is to upgrade our plan to include all the municipalities and hamlets,” said Ziehr.

The county has plans in place to upgrade the Gleichen and Rockyford water treatment plants. 

There was the suggestion to establish a regional water hub, with water supplied from the Western Irrigation District (WID), possibly in Standard, and a pipeline system that would service the surrounding towns and villages. Examples of the Newall Rural Water Initiative developed by MPE Engineering were given as reference for the idea.

Ziehr told council the cheapest option would cost approximately $55 million with funding, up to 90 per cent of the cost, provided by applying for provincial grants and initiative money. Council will have to supply $5 million.  

The governance of various municipal partners would mean they would split the fund payment. The county would be 53 per cent of the study. 

There may be an expectation that residents would be required to sign contracts and to tie into the plan. The expected costs to the ratepayer were not currently available.

There were questions about people with wells being required to tie into the pipeline. 

“That would be a hard sell,” said Chief Administrative Officer, Jennifer Deak. 

Users on the Newell line paid a lump sum of $1,000-$7,000, and then a monthly fee of approximately $100 for treatment and maintenance costs. 

If the governance study was done, it would flesh out the plan and everything would be costed out. 

Reeve Glenn Koester cautioned that if ratepayers didn’t sign on, the county had the largest percentage share, so there were concerns the county may have to overpay to make up for the loss. He also wondered how long the timeline was for the plan development and whether the cost of maintenance would be too great.

Ziehr cautioned it might be cheaper to go with the regional plan, but he wanted council to know all their options. It was recommended the Partnership retain a lawyer in an advisory role. 

In 2006, the province placed a moratorium on new water licenses in the province. Municipalities worried that if future growth in Alberta continues, the maximums for water use will be reached on existing licenses. The province left municipalities to come up with plans to conserve and reduce water usage by 30 per cent by 2030. The province was divided into seven regions, plus Edmonton and Calgary, to develop regional plans that the province expected would be in place by the end of 2012. The plans included provisions for water supply and management. The Calgary Regional Partnership met on June 21 and voted to ratify the Calgary Regional Plan, forwarding it to the province for approval. See: www.calgaryregion.ca/ Moving Forward Together. The plan includes water management and conservation proposals, governance, servicing and maintenance costs and further research and analysis goals.