By Kevin J Sabo
For the Advance
The County of Paintearth has passed a new bylaw.
Bylaw 690-20, the Water and Sewage Bylaw, passed all three readings during the Jul 21 council meeting.
The new bylaw focuses on services off the new water lines the county has put in off the main Shirley McLellen Regional Water Services Commission line that runs through the Paintearth County and out to Special Areas in Consort.
Many residents across the region have connected to the County’s water lines, however not everyone has. For people who have existing connections, current arrangements will be grandfathered in; however, any new developments or redeveloped properties would be required under the bylaw to connect to the water service.
“This is important for the health and safety of everyone in the County,” said Chief Administrative Officer Michael Simpson during the meeting.
Also included in the new bylaw are penalties to be imposed for not following the agreed upon terms of service.
Overall, the bylaw makes things “a little simpler,” according to Simpson.
The water service agreements going forward will be between landowners and the County.
“We don’t do property agreements with renters, just the owner,” said Simpson.
Property owners in the county will be required to sign up for a five-year term, and pay for cost of installation, which could vary considerably, depending on how close to service pipe a property is.
“It will always be their cost,” said Simpson.
“There will be fixed rates for consumption per cubic metre, fixed rates for reserves, and a change in the cost for installation.
For landowners not near a County waterline, the bylaw will be non-applicable.
“In rural area, you are not obligated to provide a water service if they are not next to a line,” said Simpson.
The Bylaw passed all three readings, with the third and final reading moved by Coun. Dale Norton.
Also passed during the July 22nd meeting was Draft Policy ESU 001, a policy which sets standards for potable water construction and sanitary wastewater collection construction.