Funding may not be in place yet, but a water pipeline from Calgary remains a top priority for the Town of Okotoks.
The Town has hired an engineering firm to complete planning work for a pipleline that would see treated water move from Calgary to Okotoks in the future. The detailed work will finalize alignment of the pipeline and take into consideration any issues with land or utilities.
Development services director Michael McIntyre said the work this fall will build on preliminary designs done in 2015 that outlined possible routes for the pipeline.
“Now we’re working at a more detailed level in terms of figuring out what’s the most cost effective way to bring that line to the town and what are the constraints in terms of right-of-ways,” said McIntyre.
The Town is in discussion with the Province regarding acceptable access to right-of-way on Highways 2 and 2A. Consultants will also identify other stakeholders who may be affected by the pipeline, he said.
“They’re looking at an actual path, the optimum path that route would follow and who are the landowners involve, including the MD of Foothills and private landowners, and the provincial government,” said McIntyre.
Work on the detailed design is expected to be complete later this fall.
In the meantime, the Town is still applying for grants and appealing to the provincial and federal governments to help fund the pipeline.
The most recent grant in the works could cover up to 45 per cent of the proposed $35 million pipeline that would be built to accommodate regional water needs. The Alberta Municipal Water Wastewater Program grant could potentially whittle the Town’s portion of the waterline down to $19.25 million.
“There’s an opportunity to provide extra capacity so that in future our regional neighbours such as the MD of Foothills or Black Diamond or Turner Valley and so on might be able to tap into that supply as well,” said McIntyre.
With an agreement in principle with the City of Calgary to bring water from the city to Okotoks, all that remains is to figure out the funding, he said.
The Town of Okotoks won’t hear if its grant application has been approved until 2017, he said.
The Town’s first choice would be to receive funding through the Water for Life program, which would cover up to 90 per cent of the pipeline’s cost. However, the provincial government has not approved the Town’s funding application to date.
Mayor Bill Robertson said after learning the Town was unsuccessful in its application for the Province’s Water for Life funding program, applying for the Alberta Municipal Water Wastewater Program grant was a necessary step.
“We are led to believe we might be successful with the Water for Life in the future, but we need to move things ahead now,” said Robertson. “We’ve had discussions with provincial officials and we’re led to believe that there’s a likelihood that we will be successful this time, so I’m cautiously optimistic.”
