(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Water loss issues

Capital budget discussion in Melfort focuses on water mains

Nov 15, 2019 | 3:30 PM

The City of Melfort is hoping that federal and provincial infrastructure grants will help them in their quest to replace outdated water lines.

Council held their first 2020 capital budget meeting Friday, Nov. 15, and the water main replacement issue was front and centre.

The city will be applying for the Investing in Canada grant in 2020 in an effort to help pay for the replacement of 12.7 kilometres worth of water lines. The entire project would cost about $17 million.

“We have been talking to the relevant people — our own MLA [Todd Goudy] and our Member of Parliament [Randy Hoback] with respect to the need for this type of funding,” Melfort Mayor Rick Lang said. “We’ll see where that goes but certainly something that would help, because it’s something that potentially can’t…do in a timely manner.”

Lang said they have been applying for funding for the last five years or so, but were not accepted.

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The numbers regarding water main breaks and water loss in the City of Melfort are staggering.

• Melfort had 54 water main breaks in 2018 alone.
• Just over 20 per cent of water in Melfort was unbilled in 2018, with the value of loss at $223,223.26.
• From 2000 to 2018, the value of water lost in Melfort was $3,512,964.40.

The city replaced several water lines in 2010 after receiving federal and provincial funding. The following year saw the unbilled water percentage drop from 21.36 to 12.68. The value of water lost fell by $115,000.

“That 12 per cent is acceptable – 20 per cent is not acceptable,” Lang said.

Since the water line replacement project in 2010, the water loss level has been increasing to the point where it was similar to previous levels, as the old cast iron lines continue to deteriorate.

Lang told northeastNOW the number of water main breaks in 2019 should be similar to the 54 last year, and the water loss is intolerable both environmentally and financially.

Should Melfort’s application for federal and provincial funding be denied again for 2020, Lang said the city will replace a few lines, but not to the extent they would be able to with funding.

“Unfortunately instead of the magnitude that we need to get done we’re looking at potentially, without getting that funding, three blocks of water line replacement in 2020,” Lang said.

He does not expect to hear about Melfort’s application’s success or failure until March of 2020.

“We’ll be passing the budget on the condition that if we get the provincial-federal funding, that becomes priority number one, and all of our resources go into that program,” Lang said. “If we don’t get approved in March, then we would fall back to plan ‘B” which would be replacing [a] minimal amount of water lines.”

Council’s next budget meeting is planned for late next month.

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974