I'm sure you've all read the article in the Drumheller Mail newspaper regarding my comments about that town's council turning down the Aqua 7 Regional Water Services Commission's request to re-adjust the water distribution boundaries so they make more sense.
I'm confused!
The reporter, Pat Kolafa, says that the good folks in Drumheller are paying close to the same water rates that we are! I don't follow. We in Beiseker pay $4.18 for each and every cubic meter we use. Drumheller pays $1.80 at most. That's not close, at least not using my math! Other water charges (meter charges, administration, etc.) are taken from General Revenue. If we charged all those costs to water users I shudder to think what the price of water would be!
But I was wrong about one thing - Aqua 7 is not paying Drumheller their retail rate ($1.32) for water. We were paying that, but not anymore. We now pay $1.08! Hey, I can be wrong too you know.
Beyond that, I will not get into a "he says, I say, you say" kind of an argument.
The fact is that Aqua 7 must sell more water to all of its seven municipality-investors! For that to happen, each of those seven municiplities must sell more water. Rocky View County is well on the way to solving its water issues around its area except in the north east quarter! In order for Aqua 7 to sell water to Rocky View, the county must be able to sell its allotment to customers in that quarter!
It was pretty obvious that the Drumheller Mail reporter went some distance to try and make bills for drinking water appear the same in Beiseker and Drumheller. Or at least, he tried to muddy the issue enough that the bills may look comparable, by adding in sewage charges (and what-have-you) into the equation. It was a bit of a non sequitur.
ReplyDeleteHe should read your blog - You've always been talking about drinking water, not sewage. Full stop.
Excellent take on it Rhys! Well done.
ReplyDelete