Rural water infrastructure in poor condition: rural municipalities of Alberta

There are thousands of kilometers of water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure connecting homes and businesses in rural Alberta. Regardless of the type of utility you look at or the region it is located in, you will find that this vital infrastructure is in poor repair and condition. need for significant investment, according to a new report from the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA).

RMA’s water supply shortage report used municipal data and surveys to assess the condition, longevity and repair costs of the infrastructure its members manage.

The report examined the longevity and health of that rural infrastructure as one portfolio.

This portfolio had an average condition score of 67 percent and its effective age was estimated at just over 50 years, based on an average lifespan of approximately 65 years.

The financing needed to bring infrastructure to its most manageable and cost-effective state is $2.96 billion more than rural municipalities currently have access to.

RMA recently published similar studies on the condition of roads and bridges in rural Alberta, which revealed similar funding shortfalls.

However, unlike the province’s roads, the report states that there are no detour routes or alternative options if water infrastructure fails.

“Utilities such as water, electricity and rainwater are essential services that must remain reliable and operational under all circumstances. The failure or underperformance of these critical services can have serious consequences, affecting both daily life and emergency response capabilities,” the report said.

St. Paul County Deputy Chairwoman Maxine Fodness said the main problem is the aging water distribution and sewer lines in the hamlets. Distribution lines are the pipes that connect individual homes.

In Ashmont the lines date from the 1960s. Mallaig and Lottie Lake had distribution lines installed in the 1970s, although in Lottie Lake’s case the pipe was pipe from the city of St. Paul, Fodness said.

“So we’ve been bringing water to our little hamlets and the distribution pipes are broken. Or they’re old and need to be replaced. The province doesn’t have the money for that right now,” Fodness said.

Without provincial support, the province’s only options would be to raise taxes or take out loans. This is excluded for Fodness and St. Paul County.

“If we don’t get help from the province, we just can’t afford it. Because residents can’t afford it,” Fodness said.

The utilities examined in the RMA report serve approximately 714,000 people. If these taxpayers had to cover the $2.96 billion infrastructure deficit, it would cost each person $4,150.

The two main sources of funding for infrastructure in rural Alberta are the federal Canada Community-Building Fund and the province’s Local Government Funding Framework (LGFF).

The amount that each municipality receives from the LGFF is calculated using a formula in which the population accounts for 65 percent of the weighting. RMA has said this formula disadvantages the sparsely populated but infrastructure-rich regions of rural Alberta.

By 2024, rural municipalities will receive approximately $149 million in funding from the LGFF.

Westlock County Chairwoman Christine Wiese said that while the main water transmission lines connecting the hamlets to the treatment plants were renewed in 2019, the condition of the pipes in the communities themselves is a bit of a mystery.

“Those (distribution lines) haven’t been touched for years. We have connected the new pipes to the hamlets, but we need to investigate what exactly is happening underneath for the water pipe infrastructure,” she says. said.

Wiese said this study is already underway and the results will be presented to the City Council in the coming weeks.

“This is a report we needed to help us develop a more targeted plan and prioritize upgrades that will be based specifically on each Hamlet.”

The RMA report notes that many rural municipalities do not have the resources or systems to record utility conditions, impacting their ability to make informed decisions on capital projects.

These data blind spots and inconsistent asset management practices across the province, the report said, “lead to disparities in infrastructure conditions across the province, with some areas receiving adequate attention and resources while others face accelerated deterioration and increased risks.”

The full report can be found on the website RMA website.