Dave Mabell
LETHBRIDGE HERALD
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Water - too much, and not enough - was figuratively on the table.
Reeve Lorne Hickey and County of Lethbridge officials sat down with provincial officials last month, hoping for help with two longstanding issues. They left with no promises, Hickey reports.
County council and administration were hoping for a funding commitment for the Malloy basin drainage scheme. The basin stretches from the eastern edge of the city to the Chin Reservoir, Hickey points out - and it's created plenty of stormwater stress for Coaldale.
The drainage plan calls for almost 28 km of canal construction the reeve says. So far, the county has been given funds for less than one kilometre.
As an interim measure, Hickey says, a series of holding ponds is being considered. After a storm water could be released very carefully.
"But that's very difficult when you get a big rainstorm," he adds.
West of Lethbridge, meanwhile, the issue is drinking water. A regional water line from the city is designed to carry potable water to Coalhurst and then on to Monarch.
But under current provincial regulations, Hickey says, there's no help for county residents living along that pipeline. Rural residents do not qualify for assistance from the province's "Water for Life" program, officials say.
In their meetings with cabinet ministers, Hickey says, county officials asked for an end to that restriction.
On another front, Lethbridge county is also asking for reconsideration of the formula governing Municipal Sustainability Initiative funds for counties and municipal districts.
They're based primarily on population, Hickey says, and they pay little attention to the income some counties receive from "linear assessments" on pipelines and other energy-related development.
"It's great if you have a lot of linear assessment," but the county of Lethbridge does not. Instead, there's an intensive livestock industry - one that puts plenty heavy-haul transports on county roads.
County employees are keeping those roads repaired, but Hickey says the province should find a way to provide more support for those efforts.