OLDS — Brent Williams, the town’s chief administrative officer (CAO), is hopeful that the provincial government may soon help fund a surge pond to take the extra water that storm sewers in the community can’t handle.
Williams gave that indication during town council’s Sept. 26 meeting.
Williams said he and South Red Deer Regional Wastewater Commission CAO Michael Wuetherick met with representatives of the Red Deer zone of Alberta Transportation during the Alberta Municipalities convention, held Sept. 21-23 in Calgary.
Several recent water infiltration events have underlined the fact that the town's aging storm sewer system needs help.
The latest such event occurred in early July when the town was pelted with heavy rainfall.
The volume of water became so great that a lift station failed. Water infiltrated the storm system too quickly for the lift station to pump it out.
In mid-July, town council agreed to take $200,000 out of its reserves to fund repairs and improvements to sewer and water infrastructure.
Williams noted that a surge pond was proposed about 10 years ago when the South Red Deer Regional Wastewater line was built.
“It was subsequently axed from the program, due to capital funding constraints,” he said.
However, Williams said at one time, former Transportation Minister Ric McIvor wrote a letter pledging to provide funding for such a project.
"After three emergency events that ended up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, mostly insurable, some not, but the need is now there,” Williams said.
Williams said the Alberta Transportation officials he and Wuetherick met with agreed the need is indeed there.
“Whether our grant gets approved in its first funding year or not remains to be seen, but the meeting was more just to make sure they are aware of the ask and showing them our documentation on this substantiation of said ask,” he said.
