September 18, 2001
Summary
of Committee’s Mandate and Activities
o
In June of 2000, the Municipal Councils of the
Towns of Blackfalds, Lacombe and Ponoka recognizing that each of the communities
may face limitations on the availability of suitable quality groundwater agreed
to stike a committee to investigate the feasibility of a regional water supply
based on a surface water source. The inaugural meeting of the Committee was held
September 6, 2001 and the committee has met on 8 occasions since that time.
o
UMA Engineering Ltd. was engaged to undertake
an engineering feasibility study at a lump sum cost of $42,000.
The Committee was able to secure provincial grant funding for the study
and the three municipalities agreed to share the remaining cost equally.
o
Later in 2000 Indian and Northern Affairs
Canada (INAC) on behalf of the four First Nations at Hobbema expressed an
interest in participating in the study due to groundwater supply issues in the
reserve areas. INAC agreed to fund the extra costs of expanding the engineering
study to include the supply of water to Hobbema.
o
During the preparation of the report, the
engineers and later the committee met with representatives of the City of Red
Deer to explore the potential to purchase treated water directly from the
City’s system as an alternative to constructing a separate treatment plant.
o
The Committee also authorized the participation
with the City of Red Deer in forwarding an application to Alberta Environment
for water diversion license from the Red Deer River.
The firm of Hydroconsult was engaged to gather the necessary data and
submit an application to the department for a license to divert the quantity of
water projected to be required by a regional system for the next 50 years.
o
The first draft of the report was presented to
the Committee in May of 2001 and a second draft in August.
The firm of Campbell Ryder Consulting Group Ltd. was contracted to
develop a utility rate model incorporating the capital and operating costs
developed by UMA for comparison with the City of Red Deer supply costs which are
already expressed on this basis.
o Based on the reports and deliberations of the Committee has presented a series of recommendations for the consideration of the Municipal Councils.
o A presentation of the project will also be made to the First Nations at Hobbema in October 2000.