DIDSBURY - Town council has instructed administration to resubmit a grant application through the provincial Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership (AMWWP) regarding the $6 million east water reservoir project.
The move came by way of motion at a recent regularly scheduled Didsbury council meeting, held in person and online.
The town had applied for grant funding under the partnership in 2022.
“The east reservoir application was rejected on the basis that the fund does not apply to a second reservoir,” the town's chief administrative officer Ethan Gorner said.
“The primary reason for this criterion is to ensure development driven growth funds new storage capacity requirements via offsite levies or other measures.”
Recent new information has led to the decision to resubmit the grant application, he said.
“Recent inspections of the Butte facility (on the town’s west side) suggest the assets are nearing the end of useful life and the town will be fully reliant on the east reservoir while a solution is determined,” he said.
“In light of the new information, the department contacted AMWWP to discuss the possibility of re-submitting. After reviewing the inspection reports and understanding the situation, the province has asked the town to re-submit the application.”
Based on the town’s population, the municipality is eligible for 44.72 per cent of the project costs from the partnership, he said.
The current estimated cost of building the second reservoir near the Memorial Complex is $6 million.
“This equates to a potential funding opportunity of $2.68 million,” he said.
Council passed a motion to approve resubmitting the grant application and providing a letter of support with the application package.
In June, council approved the southwest parking lot of the Memorial Complex as the future site of the town’s new east reservoir and approved proceeding with the preliminary engineering design for Phase 1 of the project.
“The assessment conducted for the town’s Water Distribution Master Plan (WDMP) recommends a second reservoir be constructed in the southeastern area of the town with designated fire pumps added to both pump houses,” Gorner said at the time.
The WDMP divides the east reservoir into three phases:
• Phase 1 is a new 2,250 cubic metre potable water storage facility with a pump house. The new reservoir is sized to address the town’s current needs and the 15-year population projection of 3.9 per cent growth.
• Phase 2 is a multi-year program to connect the reservoir to the existing network mains which connect to 15th Avenue, north through 16th Street, and then east to connect to the larger diameter main from the west side of town under the CPR rail.
• Phase 3 is a future phase which would see an additional 2,250 cubic metres of storage constructed. Phase 3 would be necessary as the town’s population and/or average daily demand once again approaches one of the Alberta Environment triggers for expanded capacity.
The southwest parking lot at the Memorial Complex is currently gravel and used intermittently by complex guests, the film industry, and local commercial businesses for large vehicle staging. It also contains an RV sanitary dump facility.
