SASKATOON – Running water may be running out for many rural communities unless new ways to pay for and manage civilization’s most “taken for granted liquid” are found.
That message was sent loud and clear to city and rural leaders attending a recent Sask Water conference in Saskatoon. The results of a water survey released last spring indicated that 58 percent of municipalities in the province had concerns about the future of their water supplies.
“The question is not whether it is possible for every community to have an adequate water supply – technology can take care of that – but rather at what cost,” Carol Carson, provincial minister of community services, told about 100 people at the conference.
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The price of improving or replacing the infrastructure of many communities will have to be borne by the users, said Carson.
In the past, federal and provincial governments have subsidized water supplies of rural and urban Canada through a variety of grants and indirectly through various water projects.
“In the Nineties, we can no longer afford to do that,” said Carson.
“Partnerships with domestic users, agriculture, industry and government at all levels are going to be needed,” said Andy Renaud, minister in charge of Sask Water. The province will be supplying the expertise and users will supply the financing, he said.
Sharing the cost
User-pay projects have already been implemented in some areas. In Bethune, local farmers, a Hutterite colony, residents of the town and the rural municipality are sharing the cost of recent water system improvements. In Avonlea, a conservation program reduced water consumption by 40 percent. The water savings led to better supplies and plans to build a larger sewage lagoon became unnecessary.
“I do not foresee a water tax being implemented by the province,” said Renaud. “It wouldn’t encourage conservation. Conservation programs will be the key for many communities.”
Participants at the conference were told Manitoba, Alberta, B.C., and North Dakota are facing similar dilemmas and coming to the same conclusion: The users must pay.
