THE PROVINCE HAS BILLION$ IN $URPLU$

AB Government won’t fund Peace River, AB lift station for $289K

Fri, January 27, 2023 

Town of Peace River council received notice at its Jan. 9 meeting that nearly $300,000 would no longer be given to them from the Government of Alberta to complete Lift Station 7 in the community.

“The Province decided not to provide $289K at this time,” says Mayor Elaine Manzer, disappointed with the news.

“In part, this will cause the Town to postpone the lift station but other budget considerations are also the reason for the postponement until at least 2024. The Town hopes to have other grant opportunities to facilitate the work on Lift Station 7,” adds Manzer.

Currently, the new Lift Station 4 in Lower West Peace is doing the intended work that Lift Station 7 will do with wastewater of the West Peace Area and Shaftesbury Estates. Manzer says this was intended to be a temporary arrangement, as when Lift Station 7 is complete it will take the material from Shaftesbury Estates bypassing Lift Station 4.

“At this time, with the briefing presented to council on Jan 9 and other budget discussions, the Lift Station 7 has been removed from the 2023 budget,” explains Manzer.

“Other funding from water/wastewater capital reserve or other grants would be used to build the lift station in a future year.”

Manzer says that because Lift Station 4 can handle the material from both sides, the stall in building Lift Station 7 will not impact residents in the short term. The Town aims at having the job done within the next couple of years so that the entire water/wastewater system can be more efficient and move the materials more effectively.

“The engineering planning has been completed, so this is a shovel ready project,” she says.

“If other funding is acquired before 2024, council and administration would be discussing the project again in the shorter term.”

Peace River’s plan is to complete the project at the next availability of adequate funding.

Emily Plihal Local Journalism Initiative Reporter - South Peace News - southpeacenews.com