At least a couple of M.D. #124 councillors are getting more than a little antsy about the prospects for finishing off the south shore wastewater project. Government funding has dried up, for the moment, leaving the M.D. unable to complete the system through Widewater, Wagner and Nine Mile Point.
“We’ve been telling people we’re going to do our best,” an obviously frustrated reeve Denny Garratt told his colleagues at council’s Apr. 9 meeting. “And right now it appears we’re failing.”
One problem the M.D. faces is that the burgeoning population in the south shore area is making the traditional septic field system of dealing with sewage no longer tenable. There have been some horror stories, although apparently no hard evidence of bacteria such as e. coli getting into the lake from those septic fields.
However the threat exists and grows, which is the main reason the M.D. acted in the first place to put in the Canyon Creek wastewater treatment plant (with federal and provincial help).
Further pressure comes from developers, who are eager to put in new residential subdivisions. One of those proposed is pretty large, and that developer is on record as stating that he doesn’t want to go ahead until the sewer system arrives. Meanwhile, he’s got a lot of money tied up in a project that can’t proceed.
Speaking of money, M.D. manager Allan Winarski told council that to finish off the project would cost close to $10 million. He said the Alberta Government is evaluating the project and will decide by mid-May if it’s worthy of a Water for Life grant.
Waiting around was clearly not good enough for councillor Darcie Acton, a resident of Nine Mile Point. She advocated quicker, more direct action. Instead of asking Lesser Slave MLA Pearl Calahasen to a council meeting, she said, “let’s quit waiting for her and go talk to her in Edmonton.
“We’re falling through the cracks of provincial and federal funding, partly because our MLA doesn’t understand the issue.” Better yet if the minister attends the meeting, Acton said.
“We have to express our urgency and we can’t wait for that to happen.”
Council passed a motion to set up the meeting in Edmonton with the MLA.

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