Prince Albert’s ongoing water concerns will be back before city council Monday, with councillors expected to consider possible relief for residential customers and a separate study examining what contaminants the city’s Water Treatment Plant can handle.
Coun. Daniel Brown will bring forward a motion asking administration to report on the cost of rebating or waiving one month of residential water bills to compensate residents for this year’s water quality issues.
The motion follows months of complaints about the taste, smell and appearance of tap water in parts of the city. As previously reported by the Daily Herald, city officials and Water Treatment Plant staff have repeatedly said the water remains safe to drink and have linked the problems to unusual conditions in the North Saskatchewan River, including heavy rainfall, flooding, higher flows and changing source-water conditions this year.
Those conditions have created additional treatment challenges, but the city has said testing continues to meet provincial and federal drinking water health requirements. In responses included with Monday’s agenda, administration said taste, odour and colour concerns alone would not normally trigger a drinking water advisory.
Brown attempted to have the issue considered at the Aug. 24 council meeting, but a motion to waive the required notice provisions was defeated 5-4. Monday’s vote will be on whether administration should prepare a report on the cost of possible relief, not whether residents will immediately receive a free month of water service.
Council will also consider spending up to $44,185 on an engineering study of the Water Treatment Plant’s ability to remove or inactivate a wider range of contaminants.
Administration is recommending KGS Group conduct the study for $39,185.11, with another $5,000 set aside for possible additional work. The city says the plant is designed to treat normal prairie surface-water conditions, but does not currently have one consolidated engineering assessment showing how it would perform against a broader range of contaminants, including those that could come from an upstream spill.
The study is separate from the current taste and odour concerns and is being proposed as a longer-term risk reduction measure.
The report points to the 2016 Husky oil spill, which forced the city to shut down its river intake and resulted in more than $10 million in direct emergency response costs. Those costs were ultimately covered by the pipeline owner.
Administration says the study could help the city make faster and better-informed decisions during a future contamination event and potentially avoid millions of dollars in costs.
Another motion Monday will deal with an issue that has repeatedly surfaced at council this summer.
Coun. Bryce Laewetz is asking administration to investigate the feasibility of prohibiting overnight camping in designated areas, including the riverbank, one block east and west of Second Avenue West and the Cornerstone area. The motion calls only for a report on the idea and would not create an immediate camping ban.
The proposal comes as council and police continue to deal with concerns about public intoxication, large gatherings, homelessness and street disorder in several areas of Prince Albert. For more on those concerns and Coun. Blake Edwards’ recent comments on the city’s response, see a separate story in today’s Daily Herald.
Council will also return to parking and pedestrian safety near the Victoria Hospital expansion. Administration is recommending a two-hour parking zone along part of 25th Street West and a four-hour weekday parking limit at the Alfred Jenkins Field House. The review began with concerns about the pedestrian crossing at 10th Avenue West and 25th Street West, but administration found the existing flashing-beacon crossing remains appropriate and said hospital-related on-street parking is contributing to pedestrian activity and congestion in the area. The city would continue monitoring the area after the hospital expansion opens.
Other items include a proposed four-way stop at Fifth Avenue and 12th Street Northwest in Nordale, a request involving the expired demolition incentive program at 1025 River Street West, and a proposed $30,000 Destination Marketing Fund grant for the Northern Lights Casino Thanksgiving Powwow.
Council meets Monday at City Hall.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
