A new utility corporation may soon be offering water and sewage services in the Calgary metropolitan area.
This summer, Calgary City council authorized the creation of a wholly-owned subsidiary, pending approval by the Provincial government, to allow the City to share its water-permit capacity, which includes enough water to serve about 2.5 million people.
However, servicing would only be open to Calgary Regional Partnership members, making it unavailable to Rocky View County.
Last year, the County pulled out of the regional planning group because it demanded that all new growth areas have densities of between eight and 10 units per acre to be eligible for regional water servicing.
The County hasn’t changed its mind.
“We aren’t interested in having that kind of density,” said Rocky View Reeve Lois Habberfield.
“Our residents are worried about doing the clustered development…they certainly aren’t going to support eight to 10 units.”
Habberfield said the County won’t rejoin the Partnership until the issues of density and the contentious subject of Calgary’s veto on decisions, are resolved.
“We thought that was an infringement of our autonomy,” said Habberfield.
“Why would one municipality in a partnership need that kind of power? It’s a democracy, not a dictatorship.”
Rocky View Councillor Greg Boehlke agreed.
“When you use water and wastewater servicing to try to control your neighbours, that is not being a good regional neighbour,” said Boehlke.
“It’s no surprise to me they have set up their own corporation, that is why we come up with ‘made in Rocky View’ solutions.”
CRP chair Linda Bruce said the County is welcome back to the Partnership and would be eligible for water servicing if their densities lined up with the requirements in the Calgary Metropolitan Plan (CMP).
The CMP is a visionary document created by the CRP, which includes other regional planning, such as that for transit.
“This (corporation) would supply water to Calgary and throughout the region, essentially to the members of the CRP,” said Bruce. “The water service is designed to provide water service to towns and town-like areas.”
The utility focuses on growth areas, said Bruce, because it isn’t affordable to provide service to less dense communities.
“It becomes cost prohibitive to do what you did in the past,” said Bruce. “It would be cost prohibitive to run pipelines all over the place.”
Both Boehlke and Habberfield are hopeful the situation will change after this fall’s election.
“You never know, elected officials change, governments change, fresh ideas come up,” said Habberfield.
“I am not giving up. I guess we won’t get servicing until things change.”
Both Boehlke and Habberfield are hopeful the situation will change after this fall’s election.
