Wastewater woes continue at Lakes of Muirfield

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

Jason and Cindy Wega live in the Lakes of Muirfield and they are not happy.
Jason Wega appeared before Wheatland County council on July 3 to appeal to council to rectify the wastewater situation in their community.
“We are hearing a lot of talk and hearing no plan in place,” said Wega. “It’s been going on for 10 years… when do we say enough is enough.”
He said the whole community is looking for a better solution than what is currently in place. Residents are paying to have wastewater trucked and he said his bill is around $350 month and his family cannot continue to afford it. He said many residents, including himself, have placed their homes up for sale, as they are fed up with the situation about having no solution for their wastewater woes and it doesn’t lead to many prospective buyers.
“We are in a pretty tight spot. We have no way of getting out or staying as a resident with this wastewater problem we have,” said Wega.
He summarized all the promises the developer had given and the information delivered to residents.
“We have been lied to over and over again,” said Wega.
Over the years, Wheatland County council has adopted a wait-and-see attitude with the issue, wanting the developer to foot costs.
“We want the developer to do it and then it’s on his dime… then we more or less have to wait. If the county takes over and does it, then the residents will be faced with another debenture. If the county does step in, the homeowners will be footing the bill,” stated Reeve Glenn Koester. Council did halt further development in cells two and three of the area to apply pressure on the developer to find a solution. Deputy Reeve Scott Klassen considered it a line drawn in the sand.
Wega said current efforts are not effective.
He questioned council’s tactics and felt they did not go far enough. He thought it should be upgraded to stop permits for any further development in cell one. However, he questioned if the developer would respond, as he hasn’t seemed to care to date.
“There needs to be a plan and a timeline in place. We can’t just sit here and listen to the developer talk and say they are going to do something,” said Wega. “I would like to think I am trying to protect the whole community. It takes a lot for somebody to do this, knowing that I might cause waves for some people and for some not.”
Klassen said the area is not a hamlet. It is developed under a homeowners association which creates a unique situation for the county. “Some things we can do, and some things we can’t,” he noted.
Wega said the residents have not approached a lawyer about a civil suit yet. A homeowners meeting is set for July 18, and the builder has been given until fall 2018 to deliver an update.

Update: July 24, 2020

For an update to this story, please click here to read ” Lakes of Muirfield transfer to county continues ” in the July 24, 2020 edition of the Strathmore Times.