Nearly 100 property owners in two area rural municipalities will have to wait a while longer to learn whether the City of Moose Jaw will provide them with city water.
The Red Lake Water Utility Association approached city hall last fall with a request to connect to the city’s water distribution system through a water co-operative, which 80 property owners in the rural municipalities of Baildon and Moose Jaw support.
The engineering services department informed the association about the possible costs based on the current water prices. Meanwhile, the association hired an engineering firm to determine the proper water supply parameters. It also proposed a connection to the 250-millimetre PVC water main on Ninth Avenue Southwest between Highway 363 and 15 Wing Air Base.
After further discussions, the association sent city administration a letter in February with an official request for a potable water connection site, water costs, and a chance to speak to city council.
City administration also informed the group that the fee Moose Jaw could charge is $3.2985 per cubic meter of water consumed based on this year’s rates.
A council report indicated the association is asking for 15.154 litres per second of water from the City of Moose Jaw. An engineering firm recommended that the water co-op implement a storage reservoir and pumping station near the connection point to ensure this connection is viable. This would protect the association if the 250 mm water main failed and cut off supply.
Association spokesman Christie Whelan spoke to city council during its April 11 regular meeting and asked for a connection to the potable water pipeline.
Instead, council voted unanimously to ensure negotiations continued between the association and city hall for connection to the city’s potable water distribution system. Once city hall has shared further information with the group, a draft agreement could come to council’s next meeting for approval.
Presentation
Once council gives the association approval to connect to the water system, the rural organization will start collecting funds from its subscribers and pursue an engineering study so it can apply for provincial and federal grants, Whelan said.
The engineering department has given the association certain stipulations to meet, while the association is pleased with the proposed cost for water consumed, he continued.
The association is close to 100 subscribers, and once the pipeline connection is made, that number will likely jump 35 per cent because people who were hesitant about joining will see what’s happening and jump on board, Whelan remarked.
“There is a lot of interest in the RMs around us as well. It’s very dry. A lot of wells, all the coulees, all the dugouts — some of them have a little water in them now, but we’ve had five years of drought … ,” he continued, noting his two wells are going dry. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out one of these days we’re not going to have water.”
There is a waterline from Briercrest to the Baildon Hutterite colony, but because the colony is a big user of water, that line is maxed out, Whelan added. That line is starting to run out of water, so even the Hutterites are interested in joining this new endeavour.
While the association wants this project to move forward quickly, city hall’s next step is to look at the available city infrastructure and determine if the water system can handle the association’s water needs, said Bevan Harlton, director of engineering.
“My next step is to go back to my modeller and ask what we can provide to these people without compromising the city’s infrastructure,” he added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, April 25.
