Mountain View and Red Deer counties are taking steps to avoid a repeat of problems that plagued the first phase of a regional wastewater line project, Reeve Paddy Munro said last week.After attending a meeting with officials from both counties, Munro reported to council that many Red Deer County ratepayers "were not happy" with last year's progress on the South Red Deer Regional Wastewater Commission line."We've given (the commission) a list of conditions to make sure our ratepayers are protected and our infrastructure is protected," Munro said at last Wednesday's council meeting."We have to protect our ratepayers. This wastewater line is coming; Olds needs it."Last year, Munro said, "miles and miles of pipe" were placed on roads in Red Deer County before being welded together, blocking access to farmers' fields for months in some cases. Due to that disruption, as well as a history of problems dating back 30 years ago when the regional waterline was laid, farmers don't want to provide land for right of way, he said."We're in the default position ñ much of the pipe is going to go down our roads."Munro also reported that a new waterline planned to run south to Crossfield will cost an estimated $8 million more if the line is laid separately from the wastewater line."Red Deer County is saying, 'If you put this pipe in, put it in with the wastewater pipeline ... Don't come back in five years and ask us to dig up our roads. Let's do it now.'"The current waterline is operating at capacity and the pipe diameter continues to diminish from buildup accumulated over 30 years, which can't be remedied without shutting the line down for an extended period, Munro said.The $180-million wastewater project includes upgrading the City of Red Deer treatment plant for the regional system, with a targeted completion date in 2015.The first phase saw 25 kilometres of pipe laid from Penhold to Innisfail, while the second phase will run south to Olds, where the town's treatment plant is now operating at maximum capacity. The final phase will expand the line from Penhold to the City of Red Deer treatment plant.The commission is hoping to have the line extended to Olds this year, with lift stations in Bowden and Olds in place in 2012, commission CAO Dale Withage told the Gazette Friday.The Red Deer treatment plant upgrades are happening parallel with the line project, so that wastewater can start moving this year from Innisfail and next year from Olds.Withage acknowledged the concerns raised by officials from the two counties, saying some had already been identified by the commission, including communication with landowners and the timing of the work."They came up with 17 or 18 points. They're all good points and we're taking it to the board today," he said, adding that more onus will be placed on the contractor to address key issues.The province is funding the full cost of the Red Deer treatment facility upgrade for the regional system and 90 per cent of the new lines and lift stations, estimated at $107 million, but there has been no provincial funding commitment given for the waterline project, estimated at $41 million.The reason for that, Div. 7 Coun. Al Kemmere said at Wednesday's council meeting, is because other municipalities rank higher in priority due to serious water quality issues.Under the joint water licence application between Mountain View and Rocky View counties, water would be diverted from the Anthony Henday Water Treatment Plant on the Red Deer River northwest of Innisfail through a line running roughly parallel to the existing waterline that ends at Crossfield. Connection points are proposed for Olds, Didsbury and Crossfield.
