Rural water utilities in 'poor condition' and need $2.96 billion investment: report

Lethbridge water pipes and infrastructure are seen in this undated image. (CTV News)

There are thousands of kilometres of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure connecting homes and businesses in rural Alberta – and no matter the type of utility you look at or the region it’s in, you’ll find this essential infrastructure is in poor condition and in need of significant investment, according to a new report from the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA).

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RMA’s asset deficit report on water utilities used municipal data and surveys to evaluate the condition, lifespan, and cost of repair of the infrastructure its members manage.

In the report, the lifespan and health of that rural infrastructure was examined as a single portfolio.

This portfolio had an average condition rating of 67 per cent, and its effective age was estimated at just over 50 years, based on an average useful life of about 65 years.

The funding needed to bring the infrastructure up to its most manageable and cost-effective state is $2.96 billion more than rural municipalities currently have access to.

RMA recently released similar studies of road and bridge conditions in rural Alberta, which identified comparable funding deficits.

Unlike the province’s roadways, however, the report states that there are no rerouting or alternative options that can be taken if water infrastructure fails.

"Utilities such as water, electricity, and stormwater are essential services that must remain reliable and operational under all conditions. The failure or underperformance of these critical services can have severe consequences, impacting both daily life and emergency response capabilities," the report says.

Maxine Fodness, deputy reeve of St. Paul County, said the main issue facing is the aging water distribution and sewer lines in its hamlets. Distribution lines are the pipes that connect individual homes.

In Ashmont, the lines date back to the 1960s. Mallaig and Lottie Lake had distribution lines put in in the 1970s, though in the case of Lottie Lake, the pipe was used pipe from the town of St. Paul, Fodness said.

"So, we've brought in water to our little hamlets, and the distribution lines are failing. Or they're old and they need to be replaced. The province presently doesn't have any funding for that," Fodness said.

Without provincial support, the only options for the county would be to increase taxes or take out loans. For Fodness and St. Paul County, this is out of the question.

"If we don't get any help from the province, we just can't afford to do it. Because the residents can't afford to pay for that," Fodness said.

The utilities surveyed in the RMA report serve about 714,000 people. If these taxpayers had to cover the $2.96 billion infrastructure deficit, it would cost each person $4,150.

The two main sources of funding for infrastructure in rural Alberta are the federal Canada Community-Building Fund and the province’s Local Government Funding Framework (LGFF).

The amount each municipality receives from LGFF is calculated using a formula where population accounts for 65 per cent of the weighting. RMA has said this formula disadvantages the sparsely populated but infrastructure dense regions of rural Alberta.

In 2024, rural municipalities will get about $149 million in funding from the LGFF.

Christine Wiese, reeve of Westlock County, said that while the main water transmission lines that connect the hamlets to treatment facilities were upgraded in 2019, the state of the pipes in the communities themselves is a bit of a mystery.

"Those (distribution lines) haven't been touched in years. We've hooked the new lines up to the hamlets, but we need to have a study on what exactly is going on underneath for the infrastructure for the water lines," she said.

Wiese said this study is already underway and the results will be presented to council in the weeks ahead.

"This is a report we needed in order to help us just develop a more focused plan and prioritize upgrades that will be based specifically on each Hamlet."

The RMA report notes that many rural municipalities don’t have the resources or systems in place to record the condition of the utility assets, which impacts their ability to make informed decisions about capital projects.

These blind spots in data and inconsistent asset management practices throughout the province, the report reads, "leads to disparities in infrastructure conditions across the province, with some areas receiving adequate attention and resources, while others experience accelerated deterioration and increased risks."

The full report can be accessed on the RMA website.