In an effort to lessen the burden of maintaining its infrastructure the Town of Black Diamond is exploring a regional water system in partnership with Turner Valley, the MD of Foothills and the Village of Longview.
Black Diamond Mayor Sharlene Brown said upgrades to the water treatment plant are top priority for town council this year.
“Black Diamond has been in need of upgrades to the water treatment plant for a while now,” Brown said.
One of the options being discussed is Black Diamond tying into Turner Valley’s raw water treatment plant.
In 2006, Alberta Environment set new water standards requiring the Town of Black Diamond to upgrade its facilities. That year, the Town assessed its existing potable water supply, treatment, storage and pumping systems and completed a cost analysis of constructing a new water treatment facility that would meet the new guidelines.
The most significant upgrade required by the Town to meet Alberta Environment’s new guidelines included implementing an ultraviolet light disinfection system.
“We’ve known since then that upgrades to the water treatment plant are needed, but how to facilitate making that work is a different story,” Brown said.
In 2006, the Town of Black Diamond applied for grant funding from the Alberta Government to upgrade its facility. However, as part of Alberta Environment’s 2003 Water for Life program, the province encouraged the Town to partner with neighbouring municipalities to upgrade an existing water facility that would be accessed by the partners.
The Town also needed to partner with nearby municipalities due to the high cost of upgrading the facility, Brown said.
“We can’t do it alone. Water treatment plants are hugely expensive,” Brown said.
Last year, the four member councils received a provincial grant to spearhead a governance study to explore options for the operating and managing structure of the partnership.
“The governance study is basically to find out how we’re all going to play in the same sandbox together,” said Andy Pfeifer, public works manager for Black Diamond.
“It’s not all about pipes in the ground and engineers now. It’s about how do we build the company model and make sure it succeeds? In other words, a business plan,” Pfeifer said.
The cost of the governance study has been covered entirely by provincial grants totaling $75,000, Pfeifer said.
The formalities of making a four-way water partnership a reality will take a step forward Jan. 26 when a memorandum of understanding is signed at 10 a.m. in Turner Valley council chambers. Putting their signatures on the document will be MD of Foothills Reeve Larry Spilak, Brown, Turner Valley Mayor Kelly Tuck and Longview Mayor Ivor McCorquindale.
Representing Division 3 of the MD, which borders Turner Valley and Black Diamond, Coun. Barb Castell said she is interested in seeing where the partnership will lead.
“This is the interim agreement stage only,” she said. “Nothing is finalized, this is just a memorandum of understanding. I feel it’s important to provide Turner Valley, Black Diamond, Longview and the MD with options to consider for the provisions of water to the four service areas. Currently, the way it is set up the four parties are unable to provide this service on a regional basis.”
The initial building step for such a partnership will be construction of a three-km pipeline between Black Diamond and Turner Valley, Pfeifer said. The pipeline would allow for raw water from the pumps in Black Diamond to flow to the water treatment plant in Turner Valley, where it will be stored in the plant’s 40-million gallon raw water storage facility.
The additional water storage would benefit both towns, especially during dry summers, and would allow the towns to continue to grow, Pfeifer said.
“The capacity that we are able to flow through (Black Diamond’s current water treatment plant) is getting to the point where we cannot sustain growth in the town,” Pfeifer said. “So we need a bigger plant.”
It makes sense for the Town of Black Diamond to partner with and upgrade the Turner Valley plant, as their water treatment facility was designed for the installation of a UV light disinfection system, Pfeifer explained.
Pfeifer said he expects the governance study to conclude by April, and is hopeful upgrades to the Turner Valley plant will begin by spring 2012 once the partnership has secured funding.
Although the Water for Life program has been inundated with requests for funding from municipalities across the province, Pfeifer said he is hopeful Black Diamond will receive a grant by the end of 2011.
“The Water for Life program is very popular. A lot of communities are trying to get on the wheel for funding to do what we’re doing,” Pfeifer said. “But we feel strongly that our particular partnership, with only three kilometres of pipe from Black Diamond to Turner Valley, is not a huge burden to their program.”
Since the new water standards were put into effect, the Town has requested several extensions from Alberta Environment on upgrading their facilities. Last May, an extension was granted stating the Town must complete construction by Dec. 31, 2014.
