Water corporation raises its water delivery rates

SANDRA M. STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin

Water delivery by the Newell Regional Services Corporation (NRSC) to community water treatment plants has increased two-cents to 42-cents a cubic metre effective Jan. 1, 2011. The increase is to a community’s water delivery systems. It is up to communities to decide their own delivery rate to the customer.

When the 2010 budget was developed in 2009 it was done blind with no history and no definite future.

“There were a lot of unknowns,” said NRSC general manager Ralph Havinga. Those unknowns included when and what would be hooked up to the transmission mains, when mains would be finished, when the old water facility would be completed, whether or not they would be taken over as assets and whether the corporation would be operating the plant on behalf of an individual community.

The water corporation moved the head office into the new water treatment plant on Oct. 2, 2010 which also adds costs.

“NRSC really operates on a cost recovery not for profit basis. Cost recovery includes an anticipated value for future additions to the plant,” he said.

Future additions could include the installation of dissolve airflow equipment and a million dollar membrane.

While the airflow equipment is contingent on future Alberta Environment regulations on the quality of raw water, the likelihood of installing a new membrane is just five to eights years away depending on users.

“That depends on how many people get hooked up and how the people actually use the water,” he said.

Since NRSC became an official corporation just two years ago, it began with no money, building itself with municipal partnerships by the City of Brooks, County of Newell, Tilley, Duchess, Rosemary and Bassano.

“Instead of a cheque we write preferred shares,” he said. Last week the county turned over two vehicles valued at just over $73,000 to NRSC. Those shares will be issued later in the month.

On Jan. 13 the old water treatment plant, pumphouse and raw water line will be turned over to the water corporation by the City of Brooks.

The result is a municipally-owned corporation governed by a board of community representatives. The city and the county have two board members because of their size and each own 20 common shares. The other municipalities own 10 common shares with one board member.

The corporation is subject to the rules and regulations of the Municipal Government Act and the Business Incorporations Act.

“Those two acts really govern our behaviour,” he said. Like so many partnerships recognized within the city and county, NRSC’s partnership earned a spread in a recent edition of the Canadian Business News magazine.

For Havinga the recognition for the newly formed corporation is significant. “It says that this corporation is making a significant impact to this region business-wise, environment-wise and efficiency-wise and that this was a very, very good project to proceed with,” he added. “Our goal is to make water and the service delivery of water, one of the most efficient and reliable utilities,” he said.

The impacts that piped potable water delivery will have to the area are endless but they start with an increase in residents and economic development.

As the corporation develops and increases, efficiency will be first and foremost for the board. “The use of water in the whole country is becoming a significant factor and water rights start to have more significance to people, thus the reason for promoting conservation,” he said. While water conservation is important the reality is that as the area develops more water and possibly water licences will be needed.

“Where are all these people going to get water? That’s our question. They (Alberta Environment) will answer it for us,” he said.

“If water licences become a commodity like the stock market, I guess we will be buying licences,” he said.

As the water program developed there have been glitches including broken water lines and the water plant itself.

Last May a clogged filter in the plant caused a problem that was corrected, broken lines have occurred throughout construction, right up until a broken line just before the end of 2010 at Alcoma School. But as glitches occur Havinga said, water workers become more familiar with emergencies and how to handle them.

“How to deal with an emergency is as important as day to day operations. We are prepared and getting more prepared,” he said.

In 2011 the board will develop an emergency response plan. “We have the basis of what to do and what we need to formulate into our NRSC plan,” he said. This year the board will work on a five year business plan now that are starting to gather a history and know the assets.

The year will also see the completion of water pipelines. Though it will be later in the year than originally planned due to last year’s bankruptcy and construction problems, Havinga said the work will be done.

“Projects are coming fairly well. We’re a little bit off on the timing right now,” he said. “Other than that I thought the year was fairly good for Newell Regional Service Corporation,” he said. The pipelines to Tilley, Rolling Hills, Rainier and Scandia and the pipeline through Brooks are basically finished and ready to carry water.

The pipeline to Rosemary and Patricia should be finished no later than mid-March and ready for pressure testing.

“The last part of this project will be the upgrades to Patricia and Rosemary and hopefully that will be done by the middle to end of summer this year,” he added.

When that is done it will be time to take a look into the future. By the end of January, any county resident who wants on the county waterline must have made a $1,000 deposit at the county office.

Last week county councillors looked at the water project.

Councillors and engineers met for about five hours to go through all the questions they have heard from residents.

This week the county is expected to mail out a question and answer sheet to all county residents. Included in that will be costs, questions about hook up, the general timeline and how the first serviced area will be determined.

Another project that will be looked at is the extension of the pipelines from Rosemary to Bassano and the upgrades to the Bassano Water Treatment Plant which are not being done immediately. The Town of Bassano has applied to the province to extend the original water grant for an extension of the pipeline.

“It could be three to eight years away,” he said.