Staff
A joint announcement made by the federal and provincial governments in Ponoka last Friday afternoon should ensure that future growth in Rimbey proceeds uninhibited thanks to funding from both levels of government to address the need for water infrastructure work that will ultimately see a new water reservoir constructed in the Pas-Ka-Poo Park area.
“Funding for the new water reservoir came from both governments and the Town in a one-third program as part of the Build Canada fund,” said Rimbey Mayor Dale Barr. “They want projects that are shovel-ready and the Town has been working with our water and sewer engineers over the last couple of years to plan for the next phase of development of infrastructure.”
The governments of Canada and Alberta will each contribute more than $1.5 million towards the project with the Town of Rimbey adding another $1.5 million bringing the total price tag for the work to $4.5 million.
Barr said the project will take two years to complete with the new structure being circular in design with construction taking place both above and below ground, and will be fed from wells in the area.
“With the expansion and growth of our community in new sub-divisions, the development of the hospital and new commercial projects, the timing was very, very good for our community and we fit within the guidelines of receiving the funding,” he said. “We have a little more engineering left to be done on the project such as how the water pipes will connect with the rest of the system, and the engineers are on side and working on some of those issues right now.”
Barr was joined at the press conference by Wetaskiwin MP Blaine Calkins and Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Ray Prins who said both levels of government were happy to be part of the project.
“The provincial government is pleased to partner with the federal government and the Town of Rimbey in this investment in local infrastructure,” said Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Ray Prins. “The residents of Rimbey will benefit from improvements to their water storage and distribution that will meet their current needs and will support the town’s future growth.”
Barr said council had received previous estimates for the construction of the reservoir that ranged between $6 million and $7 million, so the funding is a huge bonus and should the smooth development of Rimbey for the next number of decades.
“Water is the number one issue in many communities across Alberta, so this is going to put us in one of the strongest infrastructure water and sewage positions of any community and is forward-reaching for the next 25 to 35 year range, with no danger of having shortfalls for the community and for development,” he added.
The two construction jobs are expected to create local employment opportunities and were part of 73 projects recently announced for towns and cities throughout the province and come at a time when economic stimulus packages are in great demand.
The final bill for road construction in Ponoka is expected to be approximately $2.5 million in total.
