Water costs anticipated to rise due to Sherwood Park fill station closure

A popular Strathcona County greenhouse says a decision to close the county's water station will cause prices to rise. CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny reports.

Some residents in the Sherwood Park area can expect their water bills to go up as Strathcona County moves service to Ardrossan.

Strathcona County council voted to demolish the Sherwood Drive fill station, as it nears the end of its life, which would cost up to $11.5 million to replace.

“We’re going to have to pass on the extra wear and tear, the extra time, the extra employees … all that’s going to have to get passed onto somebody, and unfortunately it’s going to be the customer,” said Greg Hamilton, owner of water delivery service The Waterman.

“We’re probably looking at a 60-per-cent increase across the board for the transportation side of things.”

But Strathcona County Mayor Rod Frank says water costs were bound to go up, even if they moved to renovate the Sherwood Park fill station.

“As this facility is reaching its end of life, rebuilding it would cost between $5.9 million and $11.5 million,” said a statement from Frank. “This would result in the highest projected rate increases for bulk water users. After reviewing all options, council selected the approach that keeps bulk water rates among the lowest in the region.”

Upgrades to the Ardrossan bulk water fill station are anticipated to cost about $4 million.

The county is also building a new residential fill station in the Colchester area that is expected to cost between $2 million and $3 million.

“While the solution may not address every concern, it provides the best balance for residents and businesses and supports the longer-term sustainability of the bulk water system,” said Frank.

Rob Sproule, owner of Salisbury Greenhouse, said the decision seems short-sighted.

“Every business, when their cost goes up, they have two choices: they can absorb it or they can pass it on,” said Sproule. “We pass on as little as possible because I know how tight it is out there … I think it’s the duty of a council to look at economy and affordability first, and in that sense, it just makes more sense to retrofit the existing stations.”

He added that the Ardrossan station is already facing issues with high traffic volumes.

Strathcona County council considered three options, including the full renewal of the Sherwood Drive truck fill which would have an estimated bulk water increase of $1.80/m3, a renewal of the truck fill with modified infrastructure (no reservoir) which would see a bulk water increase of about $0.90/m3, and upgrading the existing Ardrossan truck fill and decommissioning Sherwood Drive, which comes with a rate increase of about $.45/m3.

The county’s website said costs for the third option, which was ultimately chosen, will be shared with urban rate payers and partially covered by developer levies due to the construction of the new water line in Ardrossan.

Construction of the residential fill station in Colchester is estimated to result in a bulk water rate increase between $0.40/m3 and $0.55/m3.

The fill station at Sherwood Drive will continue to be serviceable until its anticipated demolition in 2029.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Kenny