By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Bashaw Star
A request by PolyAg Recycling to place a well was again brought before council during their May 6 meeting.
READ MORE: April 29 Town of Bashaw council highlights
After conducting further research, administration is recommending against allowing the well, though council members were against slamming the door closed on the issue.
“This decision could be very important,” said Coun. Rob McDonald. “Do we keep (the company) in town, or chase them into the county? What is the risk?”
PolyAg is requesting permission to place a well for multiple reasons.
First, despite recirculating the water as much as possible, they are still drawing a considerable amount of water off the municipal system every month, which is costing them more than anticipated.
Second, the company is finding that the repeated heating and cooling of the water during the plastic recycling process is causing a large amount of scaling to build up inside their equipment.
While water wells fall under the purview of the Alberta Water Act, and must be approved by the province, the business must also seek permission from the municipality to put in the well, as well as get permission from the municipality to dump said water into the town’s septic system.
“The well drilling approval is not a municipal decision to be made,” said Town of Bashaw Chief Administrative Officer Theresa Fuller.
A major concern administration has over the proposed well is the surface contamination in the area, as well as the risk of hydrocarbons, and other contaminants getting into the aquifer and the sewage lagoon.
Contamination ending up in the sewage lagoon could kill off the biology that’s used to help dispose of waste and reclaiming the lagoon if that were to happen would cost millions of dollars.
Previously, the town had their own well in the area and was forced to close it due to the surface contamination.
As part of her research on the topic, Fuller contacted both the Town of Stettler and City of Camrose to find out what their policies regarding wells were. Both municipalities stated that their bylaws don’t allow for wells within the municipality, and if businesses needed to filter the water supplied to them to prevent damage, that cost was on the business.
Fuller also pointed out that a well may not solve all the issues faced by PolyAg.
“They don’t know that the (well) water won’t do the same thing to their equipment,” said Fuller.
Bashaw is currently part of the Highway 12/21 Water Commission and has an allotment of 228,000 cubic metres of water per year. Bashaw currently uses just 90,000 cubic metres annually, which means that there is still availability in the water system to allow for increased commercial usage.
In a motion made by Mayor Penny Schantz, council directed administration to find out more information regarding maximum allowable levels of contamination in the sewage system, and potentially set up a meeting with Alberta Environment before a final decision is made on the subject.
Tax bylaw
Bashaw’s 2021 budget faced another 1.13 per cent increase during the May 6 council meeting. The budget passed at a previous meeting of council was found to have not included $10,000 for sidewalk replacement in 2021.
Administration offered council the option of adjusting the budget, to get the sidewalks done or keep the budget as is, and not do any sidewalk repair in 2021.
Coun. Darren Pearson moved to rescind the previous budget and associated bylaw, and then the updated budget and associated bylaw passed all three readings.
Pearson appointments
With the resignation of Coun. Lynn Schultz effective May 1, 2021, Coun. Pearson has accepted the role of town representative to both the beautification committee and the Bashaw Ag Society for the remainder of his term.