Duane Hicks
While sewer and water rates have not been set for 2011, a couple of projects related to that area likely will go ahead.
One major project is the $1.2-million replacement of aged sanitary sewer line and water line on Third Street East, from Portage Avenue to Mowat Avenue, Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown said at a special budget meeting yesterday.
“We had a huge break in the line [last July], and that line is very, very old. It’s a critical line,” Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft stressed.
“One of the problems that I am seeing is that our system gets surcharged [overloaded] quite a bit,” explained Brown.
“When you surcharge a clay pipe, the bedding moves. When you move a clay pipe, it breaks,” he noted.
“When we were replacing around 12 metres of pipe, the pipe was all cracked on the top and the two sides.
“That pipe is a main artery for the town,” he warned.
Brown added it was a close call last year. And if they hadn’t fixed it, the main line would have collapsed and backed up the sewer for 1,400-1,500 homes.
The sewer line dates back to 1945, while the water main dates back to 1920.
Forty-nine percent of the $1.2-million project would be funded from sewer and water reserves while the storm sewer, sidewalk, and road portions likely would be paid for through taxation.
Another sewer and water-related initiative will be the replacement of 174 water meters belonging to industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) customers.
Brown said 174 of the 290 ICI water meters have reached the end of their lifecycle and are due to be replaced. Some of them are over 35 years old.
As well, some of the old meters are running slow and giving inaccurate readings.
Brown also noted the town should consider using the existing smart meter hydro meter communication system so that water meters can be read electronically.
Brown said the town should do a request for proposals and get “hard numbers” regarding new meters.
Once that is done, council can determine how ICI customers getting new meters will pay for them (e.g., whether the town will pay for the meters up front, then bill the customer a small charge over a couple years to pay it back).
While the old ICI water meters were going to be replaced at the same time residential water meters were installed, council has deferred discussion of water meters for 2011.
Several members of council indicated yesterday that now is not a good time to implement water meters, but they will try to find out when they may become mandated by the province.
Being the first budget meeting since council received the 2011 preliminary budget at its Jan. 10 regular meeting, the budget still is in its early stages and there’s much work to be done.
The 2011 preliminary operating budget currently sits at $10,294,904, while the preliminary capital budget sitting at $8,537,566.
But council was advised yesterday that a financial asset management report it will be receiving at next Monday’s regular meeting could have a serious impact on any decisions it makes in this year’s budget.
The next budget meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 4 p.m. in the committee room at the Civic Centre.
