An area multi-million dollar water project is set to go pending a green light from the province.
The Wheatland Regional Services Corporation is a colloboration between Wheatland County and the Villages of Rockyford, Standard and Hussar to save on costs while delivering potable water to people in the region.
Rockyford Mayor Darcy Burke said the business, which is in the process of filing incorporation papers, filed its business plan for the $51.2 million dollar project with the province this spring.
The project has been in the works for at least six years, with the Village of Rockyford spearheading the program and carrying out the studies.
“We sit in an area where there’s no regional water - it’s out to Strathmore, and that’s it,” said Burke. “It’s time to move forward,.
Funding for a good portion of the project is available through different provincial programs, including the federal/provincial Water for Life, which will fund 90 to 100 per cent of some eligible portions of the new regional water project.
“We’re hoping to get a water treatment plant for the area and pipe the water out via a regional water line to the different communities,” said Wheatland County Reeve Glenn Koester.
That water delivery would include to Gleichen and eventually, to Rosebud.
Koester said Standard’s water treatment plant is currently being looked at as the hub for the four partners, as the plants in Gleichen and Rockyford are heading toward the end of their lifespans.
The decisions would ultimately be up to the province and what they’ll fund, he adds.
“It’s been well researched and I don’t think that our group has left any stone unturned,” said Mayor Burke.
“We’ve looked at many, many different options and we feel we’ve been thorough and diligent in looking for the future for the ratepayers in this area to have ample and good quality water.”
Burke said the Wheatland Regional Services Corporation will be delivering water through the Western Irrigation District.
Phase One of the project is estimated at $39.8 million dollars.
