North Red Deer River Water Users Group 
Regional Water Supply Project 

September 23, 2002 

Project Status

The application for a license from Alberta Environment to divert water from the Red Deer River for the regional water supply project is held pending approval by the Alberta Legislature of the inter-basin transfer of water from the Red Deer River (South Saskatchewan) Basin to those communities in the Battle River (North Saskatchewan) Basin. (see map) 

A public consultation process regarding the inter-basin transfer of water is currently underway with open houses being held during September 2002 in Lacombe, Red Deer, Drumheller and Camrose (see public notice)  

An information package has been prepared explaining the project and the inter-basin transfer aspects and a questionnaire has been developed for written input. Questionnaires are to be completed and submitted to the Water User Group at:

North Red Deer River Water Users Group
c/o Town of Lacombe
5034 - 52nd Street
Lacombe, AB  T4L 1A1

By fax at 403-782-5655
by E Mail at mail@town.lacombe.ab.ca

 

The public input from the open houses and the questionnaires will be tabulated and forwarded to Alberta Environment in October for consideration. Depending on the the public consultation and the review of the merits of the project legislation authorizing the inter-basin transfer may be introduced in the Alberta legislature in the fall session expected in November 2002. 

June 11, 2002

The Feasibility Study Steering Committee has concluded that the most practical approach would be the purchase of treated water from the City of Red Deer rather than the construction of a separate treatment plant.  The City system requires capacity and technical upgrades in order to serve the water demands of a regional system and, in order to have water available for regional customers in the near future, the City must begin the planning of these improvements. The Committee has asked the Councils of Blackfalds, Lacombe and Ponoka and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada/ Hobbema First Nations for a commitment in principle to participate in a regional system and agree to provide a Letter of Intent to the City of Red Deer. 

Lacombe Town Council, at its June 10, 2002 meeting has agreed in principle to participate subject to:

1. The receipt of the necessary approvals and funding by both the regional participants and the City 
2. The understanding that the magnitude of capital costs envisioned for the system continues to be comparable to the costs set out in the Phase 1 investigative report and
3. The understanding that the sharing of capital and operational costs and the governance and operation of the system remain consistent with the adopted Phase 1 recommendations.

and have authorized a letter of intent based on the following:

1.  The volume of water to be provided would based on the consumptions projected for the participants for a 20 year time frame subject to certain minimum and maximum volumes.  
2. The rates for the sale of water from the City to the regional system would calculated on a cost of service basis utilizing principles set out by the American Water Works Association   
3. The rates for the subsequent sale of water by regional participants to their own customers must reflect the full cost of the purchase of water from the City.  
4. The Regional participants agree to reimburse the City for any costs incurred in planning for and accommodating the expected regional system purchase should the regional participants fail to proceed with the project. 
5. The parties would enter into a formal master supply agreement. 
6. The Letter of Intent will terminate December 1, 2002 or upon the completion of master supply agreement whichever is earlier.

Target Dates:

June 30, 2002 - Commitment in principle of municipal participants and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to develop a regional water supply system purchasing water from the City of Red Deer

December 1, 2002 - Negotiation of Master Agreement with City of Red Deer. 

Project Investigation and Planning - Phase 2 

The Committee will proceed to address the following during the second phase of the project investigation:

1.       Refining and detailing population and consumption projections 

2.       Securing licensed allocation of Red Deer River water supply  

3.       Refining and detailing construction costs  

4.       Detailing pipeline alignment 

5.       Investigating and obtaining grant funding commitments from federal and provincial government agencies 

6.       Defining basis of allocation of costs to owners and customers 

7.       Negotiating a final purchase price of water from the City of Red Deer 

8.       Canvassing potential interest of other municipal, institutional and private customers along the pipeline route 

9.       Preliminary investigation of private or public/private ownership, construction and/or operation alternatives 

10.      Setting out a governance and ownership structure

Project Investigation and Planning Phase 1 - Information and Recommendations

The following information was presented to the Councils:

• Slide Presentation
• Committee Recommendations 
• UMA Engineering Ltd. Feasibility Study (.pdf format)
  • Figure 7.1 - Pipeline Route Options
• Campbell Ryder Rate Analysis (.pdf format)
• Summary of Committee Activities 

Application for Water License

The regional project under consideration anticipates a supply of water from the Red Deer River.  Even though the project is not certainty and diversion from the river in any event would be four years away, the Committee felt it advisable to proceed with an application for a license to withdraw from the Red Deer River.  The consulting firm of Hydroconsult EN3 Services Ltd. was engaged to prepare a joint application with the City of Red Deer and that application (See Report in .pdf format) has now been forwarded to Alberta Environment. 

The consultant's findings indicate that there is sufficient volume of water in the river to support the future needs of the contemplated regional system.  As well the consultant has advised the Committee that there could be an issue of inter-basin transfer. (See map)  The return flows (i.e. effluent from sanitary and storm sewer systems) from Lacombe, Ponoka and the Hobbema First Nations find their way into the North Saskatchewan River System via the Battle River instead of back to the South Saskatchewan system of which the Red Deer River is one three major rivers.  

Indications from the Environment Ministry is that the supply of water to Lacombe, Ponoka and Hobbema from the Red Deer River would be technically considered an inter-basin transfer of water under the Water Act.  Approaches are being made to the government to give special legislative permission to this transfer.  

See also earlier information:

Background | Steering Committee Membership | 
Preliminary System Concepts  | Preliminary Population and Consumption Projections | 

Background 

The Town of Lacombe together with the Towns of Blackfalds and Ponoka have begun to investigate the feasibility of a future regional approach to water supply. Currently all three Towns draw from local groundwater sources but, as population and economic activity increases in the region, the ability of the aquifers to provide water of sufficient quantity or quality will be increasingly taxed.

The Municipal Councils of the three Towns have agreed that it would be timely and useful for the three municipalities to initiate at this time a joint examination of our water supply options and the potential for a common approach.  Accordingly a joint steering committee consisting of representatives of the three municipalities has been created to examine the respective water supply issues. UMA Engineering Ltd. have been engaged to prepare a feasibility study by March 14, 2001. (See Terms of Reference for Study)

For the Town of Lacombe,  previous hydro-geological survey suggests that ground water supply would serve a population of up to 12,000 after which an alternative or supplemental water supply would be required. At a population of over 9,100 and increasing evidence of dropping ground water levels, Lacombe is beginning to approach the point where alternatives must be considered. 

Present Water Supply System Information

Chemical Analysis of Lacombe Water

Aquifer Water Levels, System Water Production - 1990-1999

Steering Committee Membership

Town of Blackfalds

• Mayor Wayne Tutty

• Councillor Richard Poole 

Town of Lacombe

• Mayor William McQuesten 

• Councillor Dawn Parent

Town of Ponoka

• Mayor Ken Greenwell 

• Councillor Les Oberst 

Preliminary System Concepts

While the need for a regional approach to supply, its form and ultimate participants will be what this committee will examine over the next number of months, it may enhance members’ overall understanding if we were to look at the preliminary system concepts of a Red Deer River supplied regional system as information. It is emphasized that the information set out following is hypothetical and is to be taken merely as information. It does not at all imply that this will be the solution that the committee ultimately brings forward.

Supply Source and Treatment Options  

Assuming that the Red Deer River is the only practical water source for such a system, the water would be either:

• drawn from the river in a raw state and then treated by a plant that we build or
• purchased in a treated condition

For the first option we would either develop our own raw water intake on the river or use an intake already constructed. A treatment plant would need to be constructed, either alone or in conjunction with some other entity.

In the alternative, water could be purchased in a treated state from some one else. The only apparent supplier now would be the City of Red Deer.  Preliminary contact has been made with the City of Red Deer to advise that this might be a point of discussion in the Committee’s work. They have responded that they are willing to explore this with us if we wish to consider it.

Pipeline Hydraulics

No matter what the water source, a major pipeline will be required to convey treated water to the users. UMA has prepared pipeline grade profiles for the each of the supply options above.  Figures 1 and 2 show the profiles for existing and future water demands from a source on the Red Deer River.  Figures 3 and 4 show the profiles for existing and future water demands from a connection to the City of Red Deer water system. Both options illustrate that acceptable discharge pressures at each municipality can be achieved without an intermediate pump station  being required.

Grants Available

The only provincial grant funds available at this time are funds from the Alberta Infrastructure Water/Wastewater Partnership program. While they have identified a “Regional Systems Initiative” there is additional dollars beyond our individual eligibility. Under the current program the eligibility is as follows:

• Blackfalds - 62.5%
• Ponoka - 41.3%
• Lacombe - 36.1%

The dollars that this represents depends entirely on how the capital cost is apportioned to each participant and how Alberta Infrastructure firstly calculates the overall percentage and secondly how much they might be prepared to allocate for the project.

Details on the Federal Infrastructure Program recently announced are not yet available as an agreement with the Alberta Government is not finalized. The federal objectives have an environmental emphasis particularly water supply and sewage treatment projects. Some preliminary indications are available and it would appear that the program would be similar to the last one where federal, provincial and local shares are 1/3 each. About $80 per capita will likely be available from federal/provincial sources.I would suspect however that there would be the usual condition that you can’t “stack” grants, i.e. that is use one government grant to fund the our local share of another grant program.

System Ownership Options

There a different forms of ownership and operation for a regional system. As well there is the potential to separate ownership and operational responsibility. Because of the potential size, our regional project would attract private sector interest. Public ownership options could include:

o       Ownership by one municipality and service contracts with the others

o       Not for profit Corporation owned by the municipalities

o       Regional Services Commission chartered under Section 15.1 of the Municipal Government Act, S.A. 1994, c. M-26.1

o       Public/Private Partnership

o       Private Sector Ownership

  Under these ownership options there could be public or contracted operational options.   

Region Population / Flow Projections

Population projections are highly speculative at the best of times and establishing such numbers for the purposes of this study where the system life may upwards to 50 years is extremely speculative.   Population projections based on certain assumptions are set out in the attached table.

Synopsis of Water Supply for Town of Lacombe  

Water Supply 

The Town operates two separate water supply and distribution systems:

Main Town System

• Population Served – 8,821

• 7 producing wells in Paskipoo Formation – average depth 100m  325 ft.

• Total Production in 1999 – 1,017,000 cu m or 224,000,000 gallons

• Licensed Withdrawal – 1,673,000 cu m or 368,000,000 gallons

• % of Licensed Withdrawal Used – 61%

• Per capita water consumption 

  • 327 litres/ person per day

  • 120 cu m/person or 26,300 gallons/person per year 

• Highest Peak Day
• 4,450 cu m or 51 litres/second
• 979,000 gallons per day680 gallons per minute

College Heights System

• Population Served – 307 permanent + 500 seasonal

• 2 producing wells, one in Paskapoo and the other in a shallower aquifer

• Total Production in 1999 – 83,780 cu m. or 18,430,000 gallons

• Licensed Withdrawal - 166,360 cu m. or 36,600,000 gallons

• % of Licensed Withdrawal Used – 50%

• $9.74 per month flat rate plus $0.33 per cu m ($1.50 per 1,000 gallons)

Immediate Water System Plans

The current growth of the Town will likely require the addition of another supply well in 2001. This will be developed in conjunction with another distribution pumphouse and reservoir facility constructed in the north sector of the Town to service urban expansion northward and the integration of the College Heights system into the Town System.