Importance of water availability being driven home in region
NEWS FILE PHOTO While the South Saskatchewan River continues to flow through Medicine Hat, licences to enable municipalities to draw more water have been run dry with both the provincial and federal governments pressuring communities to work together to conserve the resource.
amccuaig@medicinehatnews.com
Water in Alberta was once thought to be a limitless resource, but the past century of growth in the province has proven how wrong that thinking was.
In the last decade, with cities blossoming like Alberta’s namesake wild rose, the once unthinkable idea that we could run out of water has become a reality. A reality that has forced the provincial government to shut the taps on new water licences on Alberta’s rivers.
No more water means no new homes, no more new industrial and commercial growth. And so, water conservation has become the buzzword as municipalities come to terms with this new normal.
Some towns found overnight that they couldn’t provide their citizens with the much sought-after resource, as regulations came into effect requiring higher water standards than they could offer or afford. Places like Tilley, Rolling Hills, Scandia and Walsh found themselves under either periodic or permanent boil-water advisories.
To tackle the increased costs of providing potable water for Albertans, the provincial government has been pushing municipalities to join their plumbing together into regional water systems. The water has already begun to flow in the regional system in Brooks and the County of Newell.
But for Medicine Hat, Cypress County and Redcliff, the collective efforts of the municipalities have yet to yield an integrated system. Nor does that seem likely in the near future.
Future development within the town, county and city
is currently under negotiation as the three stakeholders hammer out an inter-municipal development plan (IDP). But first, the water situation has to be sorted out.
“The City of Medicine Hat and the county are negotiating a Southwest Water Agreement,” said Jeffery Dowling, Cypress County manager.
Once finalized, that agreement will allow Dunmore to provide more water to its homes and businesses.
“Initially, supplying water to the county was part of the IDP. It was felt by the municipalities we could separate that issue out of the plan and do a separate agreement between the county and the city,” said Dowling. “But the county isn’t ready to implement that plan until the water agreement is in place.”
The draft IDP currently envisions growth in the next 50 years that would see Dunmore reach a population of 4,000, Redcliff 15,000 and Medicine Hat well over 100,000.
But to reach those types of numbers, again, the water issue needs to be figured out.
Kim Swanson, Redcliff municipal manager, said while the county and city are nearing a water agreement between the two, his town is going it alone – at least for now.
“We’ve made application (to the provincial government) to replace our water treatment centre,” said Swanson.
Under the Alberta government funding structure for water infrastructure, 44 per cent of the cost of the estimated $15 million for the Redcliff treatment facility would be covered.
That compares with the 80 to 90 per cent the province would shell out if a regional system were in place.
“In terms of a regional system between the town and the city, the barriers come down to the (water) rates,” said Swanson.
“And whether it makes more sense for the residents of Redcliff to be doing it on its own.”
He added that while a regional system may be inevitable, right now the city is hesitant to engage in an agreement until it straightens out some of its own water allocation issues.
Medicine Hat’s waterworks manager Abdul Kahn said the city’s wish is to have both the IDP and water issues worked out and that the county and city have common objectives.
He explained that the Southwest Water Agreement between the two municipalities would use the county’s licence to draw the water while the city would treat it and transport it to the county gates.
“There is every desire to come up with solutions that are in good faith and mutually beneficial,” said Kahn of the city and county’s water contract.
He said the city has the capacity in both its treatment centre and conveyance system to not only handle providing the county with potable water, but for both municipalities to benefit from economies of scale financially.
“Medicine Hat is in a very good position if there is a desire from our neighbours to get water from us,” said Kahn.
“We have excellent operators, we have been doing this for a long time and we have resources and the technical know-how. We can definitely do (a regional system) if it’s something our neighbouring communities want.”
REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA 2010 ■ Celebrating our Community — 91
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