M.D. adopts utility bylaw; Granum to get new water meters

By Rob Vogt
Local Press Writer
With the dissolution of Granum as a town into a hamlet in the Municipal District of Willow, not only is a new utility bylaw needed, but new water meters are coming to Granum to ensure better collection of water bills.
Consequently, the M.D. council has adopted a new bylaw governing the provision of water, wastewater and solid waste services provided to different ratepayers within the municipality.
At its May 27 meeting by video conference, the M.D. council approved the new bylaw after Derrick Krizsan, the M.D.’s chief administrative officer, explained with the dissolution of Granum it is more important than ever to harmonize what the M.D. is doing in the hamlet with other areas in the municipality.
The new bylaw will provide a regulatory system to run the utility, replacing one M.D. and six Town of Granum bylaws.
The bylaw incorporates specific instructions pertaining to the provision of water, waste water, solid waste and recycling services within the M.D. including the Hamlet of Granum, Claresholm Industrial Area, the West Pipeline west of Claresholm, and Moon River Estates east of Fort Macleod.
Krizsan noted all these areas are provided services differently.
“We’re trying to capture all those different business operating arrangements under one bylaw,” he said.
Moreover, Krizsan said the bylaw ensures cost recovery.
In Granum, several water meters are not able to be read or there may be no meters in place.
Correspondence was sent out two weeks ago, with a site visit done last week, and more correspondence going out that new water meters will be installed by the end of June.
The cost of the water meters will be covered by Federal Gas Tax Funding.
Krizsan noted the new utility bylaw spells out a charge of $200 per month for unmetered accounts. This is intended, in part, to encourage residents to allow staff into their homes to install meters.
Additional work is also planned for the water system, including testing and the identification of leaks. A tender is being put together for this work, which is to be funded from a special tax in Granum approved by the M.D. council at their May 13 meeting.
“The bylaw is quite comprehensive,” Krizsan said, noting it is important to provide services and cover costs.
He stressed the M.D. needs to get this done in order to ensure the utilities are cost recovery.
“It’s critical we get this project completed,” Krizsan said. “To meet our utility budget.”