After years of lobbying for a water pipeline from Calgary to Okotoks, the Town is now moving on to Plan B.
New rules applied by Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) made the current proposed waterline financially infeasible for Okotoks.
“Basically for a municipality to provide its water outside its municipal boundary a water licence transfer is required,” said Okotoks CAO Elaine Vincent. “That is the fundamental game-changer, as it means the initial assumptions that were used to calculate the Calgary water pipeline cost benefit analysis have changed.”
The change would require Okotoks to pay more to Calgary, and the Town has decided it is no longer the optimal solution for acquiring additional water for development, she said.
At this time, given current growth rates of one per cent per year, she said the Town has about nine years’ worth of water, enough for about 6,068 more people. The water acquisition project has been moved out to the years 2024 and 2025 in the long-range capital plan, she said.
“We do still have water for development and at the current rate of growth we do anticipate we have nine years of growth in the queue,” said Vincent.
She said if the growth rate significantly changes one way or the other, the capital plan can be adjusted as necessary.
The new solution cannot be fully disclosed due to confidentiality agreements and privacy, but Vincent said the Town is working closely with Foothills County to form a partnership as the two municipalities move forward jointly on an application.
However, she said Plan B comes with many benefits for Okotoks.
“It gives us the benefit of a lower capital cost, a lower overall cost of ownership, a greater chance for water licence and transfers being approved by Alberta Environment and Parks,” said Vincent. “It gives us better control and security for a long-term water supply.”
She said having a Foothills-focused solution in partnership with the County provides cost benefits and will also provide a model for others in the Calgary region moving forward.
Okotoks and Foothills County will bring their shared plan forward to the Calgary Metropolitan Board in January, she said.
“We are focusing on the relationship with Alberta Environment and Parks and we welcome them to come to the table with solutions, and we are hoping we can model a way forward with the Calgary Metropolitan Board,” said Vincent.
She said the change in plans did not come as a result of difficulties with the City of Calgary, but only the decision the City was faced with when AEP changed its water licence rules.
The City’s position is understandable, as it does not want to see its hard-earned water licences compromised, she said.
Okotoks and Calgary have both spent the last 18 months lobbying the Province to revert its policy, to no avail, she said.
“It isn’t changing, and we needed to come up with a new plan, and I’m very pleased with the work the administrations have been able to come up with to generate a solution that is a value proposition for the residents and for developers,” said Vincent.
At this time, the confidential plan has been shared with AEP and the Town is waiting to hear how many studies and approvals will need to be conducted before the work can begin.
Vincent said she anticipates hearing back within three to six months, and then studies can be undertaken to ensure the scenario does not have a detrimental impact on any rivers.
“Our goal is to have (the plan) formally approved by Alberta Environment and Parks within the next 12 to 18 months, so the applications for grant funding can be completed and then we could begin the construction period,” said Vincent.
Coun. Tanya Thorn said the plan needs to remain confidential at this point because disclosing too much information can cause issues on the market.
People need to remember water is a commodity, she said.
“Part of that reason we can’t share a lot of it is because we do so much of water behind closed doors, because disclosing where we’re going or what we’re doing creates price points we may not want to pay because we’re in the market,” said Thorn. “I want to stress council and administration is doing everything we’re doing around water to put us in the best competitive advantage we can as a community.”
Coun. Florence Christophers shared her excitement over the new plan, stating it is just as valuable, if not more so, to the community as a water solution than the water pipeline would have been.
“If we can put a man on the moon, we can solve our water issues,” said Christophers. “We’re 90 per cent there.”
