Skip to content

Castor water system sees record-low losses

Losses at 0.10 per cent at end of January.
32042835_web1_230316-CAS-TOC-council_1
Mayor Richard Elhard is presented a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal during the Feb. 27 council meeting by deputy mayor Trudy Kilner. Every Mayor in Alberta was awarded a medal. (Kevin Sabo/Castor Advance)

Castor’s town council was informed of some positive news during the Feb. 27 meeting.

According to the Town of Castor’s new chief administrative officer, Donna Rowland, water losses ending Jan. 31 were down to just under 465 cubic-metres of water, or 0.10 per cent of total.

This number is the lowest loss recorded since records began being kept in 2010.

At its highest, in 2010, water losses in the community were around 28 per cent and between 2011 and 2021 hovered consistently around the 20 per cent mark.

In 2021 and 2022, a concerted effort was made to locate water leaks in the town’s aging water infrastructure as well as begin replacing more water meters, with electronic meter reading capability which allows for more accurate reading.

In 2022, the water losses for the year were down to 10.74 per cent.

“I believe the meters have been a big part of that,” said Rowland.

“They are just about all switched out now.”

Rowland continued that the project is currently on hold as the remaining meters that need to be changed out are on back-order.

“We’ve changed out everything we can.”

Bylaws

Council passed one bylaw and began the process of passing another during the Feb. 27 meeting.

The first bylaw, Bylaw 1095 is an operational borrowing bylaw which essentially acts as an overdraft for the municipality.

As the bylaw is only valid for one year, it is passed annually though it is seldom used.

The bylaw sets the maximum amount the town can borrow, for how long, and for what interest rate.

Council began the process of passing Bylaw 1096, a bylaw authorizing the municipality to borrow up to $800,000 to finance the new Beaverdome ice-plant room which is scheduled to be done this summer.

The total estimated cost of the new plant is $1.3 million, with $400,000 being funded from reserves and another $100,000 already accounted for with grants.

While the town has applied for a federal grant which would cover a significant portion, if not all, of the $800,000, there still has been no word, and no guarantee for approval.

According to CAO Rowland, the project cannot proceed without some sort of funding in place.

“This bylaw is in the event we don’t receive the grant funding,” said Rowland.

“We should know about our grant funding before we have to borrow money.”

The first reading of the bylaw was motioned by Coun. Trudy Kilner. With the first reading done, the bylaw now must be advertised for two weeks, after which it will face a 15-day appeal period.

Barring no significant barriers, the bylaw will be back before council at the end of April for final approval.

Once approved, the bylaw will allow the town to borrow up to $800,000 for a period of 25-years to fund the new plant room if the grants don’t work out.

Library washroom

The chair of the Castor Public Library, Shawn Peach, presented a new plan to council for a disability accessible washroom in the library.

Renovating an existing space used for storage in the library, the construction would allow for the creation of a washroom 6-feet wide and just under 10-feet long.

After reviewing the proposal, council gave permission for the library to proceed to the next stage, which is the generation of a request-for-proposal, to be run through Town of Castor administration.

Once proposals start coming back, the plan is for the library to apply for grants specifically targeting accessibility to fund the project.

While the plan was approved in principle, one concern council had surrounding the project was that it be accessible for Paintearth Adult Learning, who shares the building, if needed. Peach didn’t see that as being an issue.

Spray Park Committee

Castor’s town council has officially appointed a seven-member, volunteer sub-committee to continue looking into the possibility of bringing a spray park to the community.

Appointed to the committee are councillors Cecil Yates and Kevin McDougall, CAO Rowland — who was appointed as Castor’s new CAO during the meeting — and residents Tracey Bowen, Jacquie Baldwin, Sharmain Bucklashuk and County of Paintearth councillor Sandy Shipton.



Kevin Sabo

About the Author: Kevin Sabo

I’m Kevin Sabo. I’ve been a resident of the Castor area for the last 12 years and counting, first coming out here in my previous career as an EMT.
Read more