The County of St. Paul is holding an Open House next week regarding a proposed water line extension to Ashmont and Mallaig.
The gathering is scheduled for April 12th at the Mallaig Unity Centre from 7 to 9. It’s a legally required step in the process of getting a line like this built under the Water Act of 1999.
The County has looked at three potential routes for the water line extension and the Iron Horse Trail was selected as the preferred alignment for a number of reasons.
“The County found that this option minimally impacts land owners, residents, and the environment. It won’t require a pump upgrade in Ashmont and maintenance and operation through this alignment was the safest option,” says Reeve at Large, Steve Upham.
If the County gets provincial approval for the project by December of 2017, construction is planned to begin in the spring of 2018 and to be completed in the fall of 2018. Installation of the water line will be done primarily through horizontal directional drilling (HDD) to minimize disturbance. The County was able to secure 92% of the project costs through the Alberta Water For Life Fund and the Federal Government’s Canada Water and Wastewater Fund.
An environmental impact study has been completed and has concluded that, due to the low volume of water to be transferred, the inter-basin transfer will not result in significant impacts to either river basin.
The County of St. Paul Regional Water System currently provides water to residents in Spedden, Ashmont, and Lottie Lake. Mallaig is the next target to be hooked up to it.