SaskWater minister Nancy Heppner says the government is working to get more water into the province’s dry southwest, but people have to be prepared to pay for it.
“Water has been undervalued,” she said after releasing the crown corporation’s annual report last week.
Acting president Mart Cram agreed that people don’t always see water’s worth.
“They’ll pay more for their cable TV on a monthly basis than they’ll pay for their water,” he said. “Infrastructure tends to run down and they wait for grants to come around in order to rebuild it rather than charge enough to actually keep the infrastructure up.”
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SaskWater recently implemented a nine percent rate increase, the first since 2007. Such increases cover operations and capital investment for the corporation’s infrastructure, Heppner said.
Larger delivery projects, such as pipelines, will require investment from municipalities.
Heppner said a feasibility study is underway with SaskPower about a new water line going to Coronach.
As well, the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority has undertaken a four-year study of water availability. Heppner said the province is growing and water demand is increasing.
People need to know where the water is, its quality and where it can be accessed.
SaskWater earned a profit of $454,000 in 2009, despite projections that it would lose money.
This is the second time it has been in the black since becoming a crown corporation in 2002. It posted a $120,000 profit in 2006.
Cram said SaskWater targets a return on equity of nine percent. Its current return is 1.4 percent.
Total revenue for the year was down because of a drop in demand for non-potable water by industrial customers such as potash mines.
However, the company reduced operating costs and saw an increase of 1.7 percent in potable water sales volume.
SaskWater serves 55 communities, 59 rural pipeline groups, 44 industrial customers and 213 small rural customers.
It also owns seven water treatment plants, three waste water facilities, 37 pump stations and more than 800 kilometres of pipeline.
