The Town of Okotoks could see future development drying up in the next few years without access to new water licenses.
Alberta Environment has put a stop to all water license transfers in the area for the last eight months pending water quality testing models that would identify the effects of drawing water out of the Sheep River, the future Calgary treated water pipeline and the expansion of the Town’s current wastewater treatment plant.
Brent Wittmeier, press secretary for Alberta Environment, said the delays stem from water management policies developed in 2006, which require all new applications to transfer water licenses be examined thoroughly by the Province. This includes quality modelling, he said, which involves an assessment river health.
“The department is seeking water quantity and quality information on the cumulative impacts on the aquatic environment and other users,” said Wittmeier.
The modeling, contracted to Epcor, was projected to be complete by the end of January.
“Alberta Environment has put a lot of water license transfer applications on hold pending completion of some river quality and quantity modeling to be complete,” said Okotoks engineering manager Marley Oness. “They’re making sure that if anybody was to challenge any of these license transfers, if they were to be challenged through the environmental court of appeal, that they’ve got a solid case for approving a number of these initiatives.”
Okotoks CAO Elaine Vincent said the Town has 14 water licenses on hold with Alberta Environment to facilitate future growth and development. She said the licenses could allow development of up to 200 acres of land in town, amounting to 3,500 people.
“What Alberta Environment has done is asked us just to prioritize which applications there should go to the top of the queue, so we’re just working through a process to do that right now,” said Vincent.
Alberta Environment holds back 10 per cent of the total amount of each water license. Vincent said the Town hasn’t determined exactly how much that will amount to.
Oness said the Town met with Alberta Environment on Dec. 15, and was told some of the simpler water license transfer applications could proceed to notification phase in January, meaning transfers could go ahead in February as long as the model results are positive, he said.
That would be good news for the Town as it awaits funding for a pipeline from Calgary to help sustain future development. The total cost of the regional waterline is estimated at $35 million.
According to the Town’s projections, Okotoks’ growth could be stunted within the next three years without a pipeline.
Michael MacIntyre, Okotoks director of development services, said at this time the Town has sufficient water to allocate to the lots within its existing boundaries.
The problem arises with new development, such as the D’Arcy Ranch and Wedderburn lands in the town’s northwest. The Town is currently working with developer United Communities on the outline plan area for D’Arcy Ranch.
“There is sufficient capacity for the initial phase at this point, which I can’t give details on,” said MacIntyre. “But it’s true that new outline plans are constrained at the moment by the limitations of water licenses.”
He said water license transfers are being pursued by both the Town and developers in so development can continue.
While some water licenses may become available in the coming months, the Town has a longer road ahead to get approval for its proposed upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.
“Alberta Environment has requested some additional data to put into the model,” said Oness. “We probably won’t be able to complete that modeling as quickly because there are a number of things that have to come together before we’d be able to model that component of the work.”
The wastewater treatment plant in Okotoks is reaching its capacity and the Town is will require a $21-million expansion of the facility over the next five to 10 years.
A study conducted last May indicated upgrading the existing plant would be the most feasible option for the Town.
The Town is looking at a system that uses membranes with a high rate clarifier to filter water, which will treat wastewater to higher standards when river levels are low and provide a bypass during storms and floods.
Oness said the unique approach would protect the river at its most sensitive points. It would also make the Town’s effluent even better quality, which means cleaner water would be returned to the Sheep River after treatment.
