Spallumcheen will do some digging into whether or not it can provide water for all residents.
Council voted unanimously at its regular meeting Monday to have staff investigate possible areas, costs and legalities associated with creating a well within the township that would provide a secure and reliable source of water for residents.
Staff was also instructed to research the infrastructure required for such a move.
“I think it’s necessary to do at this time,” said Coun. Dave Brew, who sits on the environmental stewardship and agricultural committee.
“Some of our water districts want us (township) to run them as a specified area, and there are other districts that don’t have the water supply and piping in the ground and the money to do it, so we’ll have to take over.”
Brew did not name specific Spallumcheen water districts.
According to the township website, there are 14 water districts incorporated as improvement districts under the Local Government Act within Spallumcheen.
They are independent of the municipality.
The township collects fees for eight of the 14 district. The independent bodies set their own water rates and charges through bylaws.
The environmental stewardship and agricultural committee has come up with a water supply strategy for council to peruse with the primary goal for the township to provide water to existing residents by creating cluster systems within the current water districts.
The districts’ water pipes run very close to each other, according to the committee, and could be connected with little additional pipes to create such a cluster.
Brew said there is no time frame in place to find and dig a new well.
“It will be done bit by bit over a long period of time, we’re just looking into the future,” he said.
The purpose of the township water supply, according to the supply strategy, would be drinking water.
Providing irrigation lines would be very costly and most farms in the township have existing irrigation wells.
Mayor Will Hansma and Councillors Christine Fraser and Todd York were absent from the meeting Monday.
