The City of Red Deer is paving the way for more northward development by purchasing a regional water line and creating an oversized regional sewer line.
Most of the costs will be covered with $5.2 million of debt.
But the good news is that part of the project will cost less than was estimated, noted Coun. Vesna Higham.
On Monday, City Council unanimously approved a budget reduction to $4 million for the purchase of a regional waterline — down significantly from a previously over-estimated $8.1 million cost.
Of the $4-million that’s needed to purchase the line (that stretches from Hwy 11A to the Blindman River) from the North Red Deer Regional Water Services Commission, $3-million will be borrowed and later recouped by off-site levies charged to developers.
The remaining $1 million will come from the city’s water capital reserve fund.
City Council also unanimously approved an additional $2.2 million in debenture borrowing to increase the size of a north regional sewer line. This amount will also be made back through levies charged to developers.
The expanded trunk line, between the Chiles Industrial Park and the Red Deer Wastewater Treatment Plant, will allow Sylvan Lake, the Central Park subdivision, and future developments in the Hwy 11A-area north of the city and west across Hwy 2, to eventually tie into the sewer line.
This means more regional waste water will eventually be treated by Red Deer’s Water Treatment Plant — which is more efficient and less costly than building a bunch of smaller treatment plants, said Kelly Kloss, the city’s director of development services.
Mayor Tara Veer said the pro-active project will help maintain a healthy watershed by making an “up-front investment” in infrastructure to accommodate future population growth. “We are expanding (the sewer trunk line) so we don’t have to build it again later.”
Coun. Lawrence Lee said it’s prudent to have the work done in advance. And Coun. Frank Wong also noted the future opportunities as the area grows with new subdivisions towards Hazlett Lake.
“Often we don’t think of the massive city infrastructure under our feet,” added Coun. Ken Johnston, who commended the city’s engineering staff for planning it in a timely way.
When the entire regional wastewater transmission system, now under construction, is completed at a total cost of $71 million by next March, it will connect Lacombe, Blackfalds and Ponoka to the Red Deer wastewater treatment facility.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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