Moment with the Mayor: Water and Traffic

Hi Neighbours:

Recently Council turned down an industrial request for more water. Somehow some people have come to the conclusion that the Town has a water shortage. I want to assure you we do not have a water shortage. Further, we have enough water for the new developments that are taking shape. Let me clarify a little about the water. Currently our Haubrich Water Treatment Plant (WTP) runs at about 85% capacity. This means our staff our very diligent in watching water levels to ensure we have enough for all purposes including safety. The volume of water the Town receives is not a problem. The concern with the industrial request is that the flow rate requested would drain the system faster than it could be refilled. Water staff go in to work at 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM to ensure the water tower is filled and backwash (clean) the filters.

Once the backwash water resale program is fully implemented it will divert 18% water increasing the Haubrich WTP capacity. Further, we are looking at developing a mechanical waste water treatment plant with the intention of selling the discharge water for industrial purposes. This would also alleviate the burden on the Haubrich WTP.

On a different note: recently the Ministry of Highways recommended the Town limit access to HWT #7 to two points – one on the east side and one on the west side. Traffic Engineers from Associated Engineering have suggested something similar and have proposed a couple of options. The primary concern is safety but we also have to consider the effects on our local businesses, cost effectiveness, and traffic flow. Should Council accept the recommendations in principle then the Ministry of Highways will be facilitating a community meeting to discuss the traffic challenges. We have a traffic committee who are reviewing our traffic bylaws and other challenges such as truck parking; they should be reporting back to us at our next meeting.

Finally one more traffic note: one of the things Council is considering is removing the traffic light standards that are place downtown. The lights do not meet federal/provincial guidelines and the cost of replacing the current lights with compliant lights is approximately $1 million. The alternative is to have strategically placed “4-way Stops” downtown. This would be done to ensure safety and desirable traffic flow.

Please write or phone if you would like me to discuss a particular topic. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca. You can also check out my blog at http://mayorjohn.blogspot.ca/. I appreciate your feedback.