Work on the long-awaited water treatment facilities in Bragg Creek is coming to an end, but Rocky View County council has not yet determined how water servicing will be provided in the hamlet or what it will cost.
Construction on a new water treatment plant is finished while work on a wastewater treatment plant is nearing completion.
Jorie McKenzie, project delivery supervisor, said commissioning and performance trials of the water treatment plant are done and the facility is ready to produce water, but the plant is not being operated at this time, he said.
He said the wastewater plant is still under construction.
“The building shell is up, we’re looking at substantial completion by December and performance trials in the new year,” said McKenzie of the wastewater plant.
Water intake infrastructure from the Elbow River is in place and the plant is located in an existing municipal facility on Burnside Drive with a storage tank and truck fill station next to the plant, while the wastewater plant is located west of Wintergreen road.
The projects were paid for in part by $10.3 million from the provincial and federal governments. The wastewater facility was funded through the recent economic stimulus program and had to be completed by Dec. 31 to be eligible for the funding. McKenzie said the County will be able to meet the deadline.
County Councillor Rick Butler said council is still working on a servicing plan for the area.
“We’re sort of in this transitional phase of trying to work all this out now for which residents want it,” he said.
Butler said the County will hold a series of consultations with residents in the new year.
“We’re really trying to decide this with residents,” he said. “By early next year, I hope we have a concept we can take to meetings for discussion.”
Initially, the wastewater plant will serve the Bragg Creek Shopping Centre and homes in the Pine, Spruce and Balsam areas. Future phases will extend the system to the rest of the hamlet.
Homeowners will be responsible for paying for the pipelines from property lines to their homes.
Butler said it will not be mandatory to hook into the water treatment plant. However, the ultimate goal is to eventually have all homes in the hamlet tied into the system. The plant was built to meet the current needs of residents and businesses and the plant can be expanded in the future.
Butler said the County is also in negotiations with water cooperatives in the area to tie into the regional water system.
During the transition to the new water system, residents will be able to have potable water delivered to their homes in the hamlet.
He said council still has to decide whether the County will operate the truck delivery itself or contract out the service.
“We haven’t got that all set up yet, that’s what we’re working on now,” he said.
In order to receive truck deliveries of water, residents will need to live in the hamlet and must have a storage tank or cistern.
Butler said council has a number of different options for how to proceed and cover the remaining cost of the water projects, including hamlet-wide levies, local improvement taxes for those who want to tie into the system, or grants.
“There’s still some hope that maybe there’s even further subsidy dollars from the Province,” he said.
While the County has estimated potential rates for water services, he said it hasn’t been finalized. Estimated cost to receive treated water through a piped system is pegged at $1.55 per cubic metre, plus a $25 monthly fee.
“To get to that full cost, we haven’t got it yet in terms of where the pipe is going to be and how much we’re going to subsidize the main pipe going near residences,” said Butler.
