Council approves Rural Area Water and Wastewater Service Connection Bylaw

IMAGE. Supplied by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Council approved the Rural Area Water and Wastewater Service Connection Bylaw at Tuesday’s meeting.

The bylaw outlines the process for residential lot owners in rural communities south of Fort McMurray to access municipal infrastructure.

CAO Matthew Hough said in a statement that the municipality started building the majority of the infrastructure needed in 2017.

“This is a significant step in providing piped water and sewer servicing to rural communities and residents that have never had access to these services,”

The Rural Water and Sewer Servicing Program will upgrade water, sewer and road infrastructure in the communities of Anzac, Conklin, Draper, Gregoire Lake Estates, Janvier and Saprae Creek Estates.

The plan will be in effect until 2028, or until five years after the date municipal infrastructure is available at the lot, whichever is earlier.

After that, owners will be responsible for the full cost of connection and trucked water and wastewater collection will discontinue.

Service connection fees are $10,000 per residential lot in Saprae Creek Estates and $16,000 per residential lot in other communities.

Fees may be paid in one lump-sum payment at the time of installation, or added to utility bills and amortized over a period of twenty-five years.

You can find more details and timelines here.