Initiative

1. That the long term water supply interests of the Towns of Blackfalds, Lacombe and Ponoka are best served by the creation of a regional water supply system.

2. That the Towns continue to cooperate in further exploring the feasibility of a regional system based on a supply of water from the Red Deer River.

Participants and Customers (Section 3.0)

3. That the Towns would be the core participants in the system and through an appropriate governance structure would be considered the “owners” of the system.

4. That Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) be invited to participate in the system on behalf of the First Nations of Hobbema. Additional capacity and infrastructure in the system would be constructed to supply the long term needs of the First Nations upon investment of capital funds by INAC.

5. That rural municipalities and major industrial operations along the pipeline route be invited to participate in the system for the supply of public water systems in rural residential or commercial subdivision areas. Additional capacity and infrastructure in the system would be constructed to supply the long term needs of these rural municipalities and industries upon the execution of long term purchase agreements.

6. That private customers, including rural subdivision co-op systems, be permitted to purchase water in excess of consumption requirements of the committed participants. Additional capacity equal to 10% of the non-industrial consumption of the Towns would be constructed to serve potential private customers.

7. Customers of the system accept water from the system with no guarantee of minimum pressure or uninterrupted supply. Customers shall be required to provide their own pumping and reservoir capacity.

Water Source Options (Section 6.0)

8. That the development of a separate treatment plant and river intake be the preferred approach unless the long-term purchase of water from the City of Red Deer can be arranged at price that is lower than the costs associated with the construction and operation of separate facilities.

9. That should a separate treatment be considered, the river intake will be constructed upstream from the discharge of the City of Red Deer Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Pipeline Alignment and Connections (Sections 7.0, 8.4)

10. That the Highway 2A (Red/Green) alignment be the preferred route as it provides the greatest flexibility for selecting between water source options and has the greatest potential to serve future private and rural municipal customers.

11. That the regional system provide one connection to the distribution systems of each of the Towns.

Water Treatment Process ( Section 11.0)

12. That, for the purposes of ensuring public safety and maintaining public confidence in the drinking water supply and in anticipation of increasing contamination of the Red Deer River raw water supply and rising government standards, the water supplied to the regional system have higher levels of treatment than are required by regulation and include additional measures to guard against contamination by Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and other potential viruses and pathogens.

13. That additional capital costs be accepted for more environmentally benign methods of disinfection and for reduced energy consumption and emissions

14. That, should the regional system construct its own treatment facility, fluoride be added to the treated water.

Ownership and Governance (Section 19.0)

15. That ownership and operation of the regional system by the Towns is preferred unless ownership and/or operation by private or public/private partnership interests can be proven to less expensive in the long term.

16. That private interests be invited to submit proposals for the construction and/or operation of a regional system.

17. That, should the Towns own and operate a regional system, which includes its own water treatement plant, a regional commission be the preferred vehicle for ownership and governance. Otherwise joint municipal ownership would be appropriate.

Capital Cost Sharing (Section 17.0)

18. That the Towns share the net capital costs of a system of sufficient to supply the long-term domestic and industrial water needs of the Towns plus any capacity added for sale to other interests under recommendation 5.2.4. on the basis of the identified equal-sharing model with proportions based on the nominated consumption requirements of the Towns.
“Net capital costs” is defined as gross capital costs less any grant or other external funding jointly accessed by the Towns.

“Nominated” is defined as a commitment to purchase a given volume of water at the 20 year time horizon. Nominated volumes may be “sold” to others.

19. That INAC, if it chooses to participate, be required to fund the incremental capital costs of adding sufficient intake, treatment, pumping and pipeline capacity and additional infrastructure required to serve the long-term consumption of the First Nations.

20. That any rural municipalities, major industrial customers and other private customers be required to fund the capital costs of infrastructure required to connect, store and pump purchased water.

Operating Costs

21. Water purchased by the Towns be charged on a utility rate model basis taking into consideration both actual consumption and respective nominated volumes.

22. INAC, rural municipalities, industrial users and other private customers would be charged on a utility rate model basis reflective of the initial capital contributions made.

Implementation

23. That the target date for the commencement of operations of a regional supply system be May 1, 2005.

24. That the Municipal Councils of the Towns and INAC provide confirmation of intent to participate in a regional system by June 1, 2002.

25. That rural municipalities or major industrial users, wishing to guarantee a supply of water, commit to participate in a regional system by September 1, 2003.