Keremeos’ outdoor municipal staff were reminded last week that even this small communitiy is not immune to a problem plaguing municipalities across Canada.
That reminder came after village contractor Suck it Up replaced a failing sewage pipe at the Sixth Street sewage pump station.
The pipe in question failed prematurely, but the failure was a reminder that at least a portion of the village’s buried infrastructure – sewage and water lines, mainly – are rapidly approaching the end of their service life, if they haven’t already.
The village noted in its 2013 Public Works Report to council on January 20 that two deteriorated water service connections were replaced on Sixth Avenue in 2013. The report also stated that the village currently has engineers preparing a quote to replace deteriorating water mains in the downtown core.
Even with grant funding from higher levels of government, it appears to us that there will be an growing need for increased taxation to pay for repairs and rebuilds as local infrastructure continues to age, making it more important than ever for taxpayers to involve themselves in the budget process.
Government is involved in many aspects of our lives these days; some of the services they provide are essential, others not so much so.
The time may be approaching where we will have to be much more selective in what we ask local governments to provide, as we are increasingly tasked with the prospect of rebuilding existing infrastructure at the same time we expand, extend and improve existing systems.
