Sundre’s council last week authorized the mayor to sign a water source protection charter on behalf of the municipality .
“This is the charter that we are being requested to sign by the Red Deer River Municipal Users Group,” said chief administrative officer Linda Nelson during the Oct. 1 meeting.
Earlier in September, council had received correspondence from the organization requesting a commitment from participating municipalities to endorse the Charter for Protecting Source Water Quality in the Red Deer River Watershed. Agreeing to do so would require the town to implement three priority actions for source water protection by Aug. 31, 2020.
Council carried a motion during its Sept. 24 meeting directing administration to provide details as well as recommendations for potential projects that impact source water quality protection for inclusion in the charter.
“I have had discussions with my team,” said Nelson. “We have come up with three projects that we feel are very doable and that we as administration would support.”
The first initiative is to promote water smart conservation through land use planning, which the municipality already strives to do but will continue to prioritize, she said.
The second is to continue using the leak detection equipment that the municipality acquired last year to locate water leaks as well as groundwater infiltration, she said.
The third is to promote water smart conservation through the town’s utilities bylaw, such as promoting odd or even watering days, she said.
Mayor Terry Leslie said these initiatives are going to contribute to source water protection as well as raise awareness about the issue in the community.
Nelson said administration was requesting that council approve the three initiatives as outlined, as well as to authorize the mayor to sign the charter on behalf of the municipality.
Coun. Charlene Preston made a motion to that effect, which was carried unanimously.
