Town discusses future of local water services

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Strathmore Committee of the Whole discussed the town’s potable water source and storage facilities during the Oct. 9, meeting in council chambers. 

Administration presented before councillors to summarize both the current situation, as well as into the future, allowing for input on both current and future water projects. 

“The Bow River is the source of water for the Town of Strathmore, as well as many other municipalities in the area. Cochrane is the first major withdrawal point downstream of a mountain reservoir system,” said Ethan Wilson, manager of infrastructure with the Town of Strathmore. “For the town specifically, water from the river is treated and delivered via the East Calgary Regional Water Line. There are pros and cons to this; however, the regional efficiencies in treatment are significant.”

Prior to the East Calgary Regional Water Line, water was delivered to Strathmore via the Western Irrigation District. 

The Town of Strathmore itself does not currently employ qualified professionals trained in water treatment. Epcor currently provides water services for the town, though none of their members are located in Strathmore.

Bringing the topic of water demand to council now serves to allow time for administration to plan for future population growth of the town, which would lead to increased water demands. 

Volumes of water delivered, stored, treated and used on a daily basis will have to be accounted for as the population increases.

Following the decommissioning of the Westmount reservoir, the two remaining reservoirs in Strathmore are the Wildflower, which is operating at 100 per cent capacity, and Brentwood, which is currently operated at 50 per cent capacity.

“When we look at the town over the last four years, we see an average day demand of 3,920 cubic metres, and a maximum day demand of approximately 7,800 cubic metres. Converting this to storage requirements, the town is required to have two times our average day demand of storage,” said Wilson. “With our current capacity of 14,500 cubes, we are well over the requirement. With the plan of decommissioning of Brentwood in 2026, we today have free storage of approximately 32 per cent.”

Wilson added the town’s master servicing study contemplates an expansion of the Wildflower reservoir storage capacity, which would be separate from the pump upgrades currently in progress.

A project of this size, he explained, is anticipated to cost between $12 million and $15 million. Capacity of the Wildflower facility would be increased to 17,700 cubes. 

The full presentation and debate are available via the recorded Committee of the Whole meeting posted to the town’s YouTube channel. The topic was not specified at the time regarding when it would be returning before council.