Lethbridge is looking to collaborate with regional partners on water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades. Mayor Blaine Hyggen will write a letter of support to the towns of Coaldale and Taber, which are seeking funding for high-level servicing analyses of potable water and wastewater infrastructure along the Highway Three corridor.
“We are committed to regional collaboration and recognize that it is in the mutual interests of all communities to work together in the pursuit of regional economic development,” Hyggen said. “It is fiscally responsible to invest in the maintenance and expansion of existing municipal infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the communities and industries. Advocacy efforts are happening at multiple levels, including meaningful conversations between provincial ministries and council members at the Alberta Municipalities conference last week.”
Lethbridge is a regional hub for water and wastewater treatment, providing these essential services to more than 133,064 people in the city and surrounding region, including Lethbridge County, Coalhurst, Coaldale, Diamond City, Monarch, Picture Butte, Iron Springs, Turin and Chin as well as commercial, industrial and agri-food processing customers.
Water-wastewater general manager Doug Kaupp provided an update to the economic standing policy committee last month and said the systems exceed 90 per cent of capacity on peak days and there has been no capacity improvement since 1981.
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In that meeting, city staff recommended an additional increase to water and wastewater rates to support upgrading the infrastructure, but the committee decided to stick with the already planned increase and explore other ways to fund upgrades.