Blackfalds council puts water conservation policy in place
Blackfalds Council in brief
Posted 2 months ago
The winter months are not necessarily a time when people think about water conservation but Blackfalds council was talking about it at their Nov. 24 meeting and passed a motion to bring in a formal Water Conservation Policy as well as a Water Restriction Policy.
The Water Conservation Policy provides direction for key conservation initiatives mainly for inside water such as low flow toilets and showers. It also deals with procedures and specifications for devices for new construction.
The Water Restriction Policy outlines for outside water usage levels. The restrictions increase with each level meaning level one is the least restrictive while level four represents the most restrictions.
Examples where restrictions would increase include cases of prolonged warm and dry weather or mechanical problems or disruptions.
Coun. Richard Poole asked administration about turning level one and two restrictions into educational or advisory points since they would be difficult to enforce and because levels three and four are the real substance of the policy.
His inquiry was turned into an amendment to the motion and passed by council.
A second amendment was developed after Mayor Melodie Stol pointed out that setting a percentage goal in the Water Conservation Policy had some flaws because it didn't account for factors such as population growth and wet versus dry weather. The amendment was to turn the goal into a per-capita figure as opposed to a percentage and it was passed.
Sign regulations
Council passed an amendment to their Land Use Bylaw dealing with sign regulations.
This was the third reading for the amendment. Small changes were made following a second reading on Oct. 27.
The new regulations bring Blackfalds closer to standardizations for sign requirements that are commonly found in Central Alberta communities.
Southwick property
Council passed a motion to follow the recommendation of its standing committee to use an insurance cash settlement of $22,746 to demolish the Southwick Property (west of Womacks Road) along with the garage and shop.
The settlement comes following vandalism at the property on May 17 that included broken windows, smashed doors, holes in the wall, ripped off walls and marks in the floor.
Complied by Richard MacKenzie
