SUNDRE – Town council unanimously approved an amendment to the Town of Sundre's water conservation bylaw that removed a reference of forfeiting the right to be supplied with water for users who are found to be in breach.
“This is an existing bylaw,” Linda Nelson, the town's chief administrative officer, told council during a recent regular meeting.
“The bylaw policy review committee has had an opportunity to review the bylaw, and are recommending one minor change,” she said.
As per the bylaw’s original wording under Section 4 for penalties, the document read: “A person committing a breach of any provisions of this bylaw, upon conviction of breach thereof, may forfeit the right to be supplied with water, and shall be liable to penalty as outlined.”
The review committee recommended striking from the bylaw the reference of “may forfeit the right to be supplied with water, and” so that the wording now reads, “a person committing a breach of any provisions of this bylaw, upon conviction of breach thereof, shall be liable to penalty as outlined,” said Nelson.
Without any questions or requests for clarification from any of the members of council, all of whom were physically present for the meeting, the amended bylaw passed through all three readings to officially become adopted.
The three stages of restrictions outlined under Schedule A that were originally included in the bylaw therefore remain unchanged.
Level 1 voluntary conservation efforts call upon all users to reduce consumption by restricting outdoor water use such as watering lawns, washing vehicles, sidewalks and building exteriors, or filling up backyard pools and hut tubs while still allowing for the watering of flowerbeds and vegetable gardens by hand using either a can or hose fitted with a nozzle trigger to control the flow.
Level 2 mandatory conservation efforts specify certain days of the week when all aforementioned uses are restricted to, with exceptions on for example freshly seeded lawns or planted sod that can be applied for through the municipality.
Level 3 – the final and most severe stage – outlines emergency water restrictions that effectively prohibit all non-essential outdoor water use with a provision allowing council to shut or constrict water services at its discretion.
There are no penalties for Level 1 infractions.
However, first offences under Level 2 restrictions could result in a $100 fine, which increases to $250 upon second offence and finally $800 for a third offence or more.
Level 3 infractions start at $250 for the first offence followed by $800 upon second and ultimately $1,500 for a third offence or more.
Section 5 also includes further enforcement options by stating that “in addition to any penalty which may be imposed under this bylaw, the town may seek a court order granting relief in the nature of an injunction or any other order necessary to enforce compliance” as per the Municipal Government Act.
As well, the bylaw also states under Section 2 for conservation and restriction strategies that regardless of whether any restrictions are in place, conservation measures will be promoted by encouraging activities including but not limited to: flushing toilets only as required for solids; not running partial loads in laundry or dish washing machines; as well as curtailing non-essential maintenance operations that require large volumes of water for recreational swimming pools or other recreational facilities that require a high use of water.
Town bylaws are available in full by visiting the municipality’s website and clicking on Bylaws and Policies under the Your Government tab. As that section of the website remains under construction, anyone who wants to obtain bylaw information not currently available online may request the information by contacting the office at 403-638-3551.
