llage, Beiseker Village council is trying to determine the cause of an apparent water loss.
At the regular meeting May 9, the ongoing water issue was once again up for discussion after a discrepancy was found in the amount of water the Village is purchasing and how much is being paid for by citizens.
The Village of Beiseker purchases water from the Aqua 7 Regional Water Commission, of which Mayor Ray Courtman sits on the Board. He said Beiseker is contributing a great deal of water sales to the commission.
The approved 2016 budget indicates the Village purchased $109,026 of water from Aqua 7, but residents were charged for only $96,059 – a $12,967 difference.
Courtman said he suspects the cause of the discrepancy could be underground leaks.
“What alarms me… is the amount of water we’re buying but we’re not getting paid for; that means it’s not going through the meters in the homes, it’s just kind of going out there, leaking through the pipes,” he said.
Despite years of pipe replacement programs, Courtman said the Village is still finding old, deteriorating pipes.
“We had a couple hundred feet of old, old pipe that is actually breaking apart down on 4th Avenue,” he said. “But we hope, we think, that’s the last of it. The rest of the pipe is in pretty good shape…. I’m thinking it’s mainly a valve problem.”
“A tremendous amount of water is being lost,” Councillor Nikki King said. “The public works department is inspecting the valves and making sure they’re actually working and trying to determine where we’re losing this water.
“I think they’re starting to make some headway because they are finding some of the leaks and repairing them in a (cost-) and time-effective manner.”
Courtman said Beiseker’s valve issues are ongoing, but the Village is on track to improve them. He said he’s hoping to get four or five valves replaced with the $50,000 pledged to the issue in the 2016 budget.
“If everything goes well and the ground is soft and the weather’s nice, we hopefully will be able to lower that price and do more,” he said.
Although the cost of valve replacement is high, Courtman said the Village will save funds when the water infrastructure system is back in good shape.
Public Works foreman Dave McKenzie said a great deal of work has already been done to maintain older pipes and leaky valves.
“There is no known leaks at this point,” he said. “We’re keeping our eyes on all the water mains for unusual puddles and just suspected leaks right now.”
McKenzie asked residents for help by letting the Village know if they notice odd or long-lasting puddles.
Twenty-year Beiseker resident Nikki King was sworn in as the newest member of council May 9.
King won the April 18 Beiseker byelection with 71 of 161 votes cast. With a history as a member on the Family and Community Support Services and Recreation and Economic Development boards, King hopes to bring experience to her new role.
She said she enjoyed her first meeting.
“I thought it went really well. The other council members and the CAO were very welcoming and made sure I knew what was going on,” she said. “I think it’s a very cohesive team.”
Courtman said he is excited to have King on board.
“I’m looking forward to working with her for the next 17 months or so,” he said.
