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Duck Lake Residents Ask Government for Help with High Water Costs |
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Written by James Wood, The StarPhoenix
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Friday, 01 May 2009 23:33 |
A representative of Duck Lake was at the legislature Monday to plead for help with sky-high water prices the town of about 600 people says the provincial government helped create.
Duck Lake deputy mayor Denis Poirier said the town has had to cut off 11 households -- with about another 20 on the brink -- that are unable to pay water bills of more than $160 a month. Poirer said those bills were likely the highest in Canada.
"Water has become extremely expensive. It's not a commodity anymore, it's something that's just about a luxury. We have people that are telling us they are going to put a toilet in the front yard
. . . people are really upset with what was done to a small community," Poirier told reporters at the legislature after the NDP raised the issue in question period.
In 2006, the provincial Environment Ministry ordered the town to find a new water source after ammonia was found in the water supply.
The town agreed to a proposal by Crown corporation SaskWater that included digging wells outside the town.
Construction of a new water treatment plan was delayed, and in May 2008 SaskWater told the town that the price charged for water would be $12.49 per 1,000 gallons of water the town consumed, $4 higher than expected, and an annual $128,000 capital allocation charge would be added over the life of the 20-year agreement.
Duck Lake decided to go on its own instead with a project using the wells, on which work had already begun, even though some of its original options had been cheaper. While it saved in the long run compared to the SaskWater proposal, it came with a higher upfront cost.
With Duck Lake still owing about $1.8 million for the project, Poirier hoped to see assistance from the province with the town's $780,000 short-term loan.
That would allow the town to keep rates down for all residents to about $85 per month, the amount being paid by about one-third of residents who made an upfront payment of more than $2,000, said Poirier.
While the town has been dealing with SaskWater and the Environment Ministry, Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Hutchinson told reporters it was the first he had heard of the issue.
He suggested there were numerous potential sources of infrastructure funding for Duck Lake, including the $500,000 Canada-Saskatchewan municipal rural infrastructure fund (MRIF) grant program and the federal Building Canada program.
"There are all kind of options available for these folks," said Hutchinson before offering to meet with Poirier.
But Poirier noted the town had already received the MRIF grant and had put it toward the water project -- the total cost of which has rose to $2.3 million -- and has been told it is not eligible for the current round of federal funding. However, the deputy mayor described his meeting with the minister as "positive" in terms of raising awareness of the town's problem.
"But I'm not going to hold my breath until we have cash in our pocket," he said in a later interview.
NDP environment critic Sandra Morin said the situation is not isolated to Duck Lake.
jwood@sp.canwest.com
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