The City of Moose Jaw will soon provide water to another rural resident south of the community as part of a 33-year agreement with a water collective organization.
The municipality and the Ninth Avenue Viaduct Co-operative Ltd. have had a partnership since Oct. 17, 1990, which sees the city supply water for domestic use to 12 members.
The group sent city hall a letter on Oct. 6, 2022, asking that their co-operative be allowed to add another water line to the current 12 lines. The group noted that it discussed the matter with the Water Security Agency and received no pushback from the Crown corporation. Moreover, the new line would be directly off the main pipe and not require a spur.
City administration brought the issue to the Jan. 23 city council meeting, with council voting unanimously to approve the Ninth Avenue Viaduct Co-operative Ltd.’s request to add a new rural water connection.
A council report noted that the group used 3,140 cubic metres of water in 2021, while that would likely increase to 3,400 cubic metres — an extra 260 cubic metres — annually with an additional customer.
The group would be responsible for all costs associated with the new water connection, while the city would not be financially liable for any issues, the report added.
The municipality agreed in 2019 to provide water to other users outside city boundaries, but concerns arose about people quietly connecting to water lines without the city’s knowledge, city manager Jim Puffalt said. So, council passed a motion that any new connections must receive permission first.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Feb. 13.
