Town has made water licence transfer application

The Town of Cochrane has made a water licence transfer application to Alberta Environment to accommodate future growth.

To cover the costs of securing access to additional water, town council has given first reading to a bylaw to establish a water licence connection fee for all new development. Should it be approved, it will come into effect on Sept. 1.

"In calculating the new water connection fees, an approach we used was to determine all capital and debt carrying costs for 25 years, and to distribute this cost to new users over the 25-year period," explained Pinky De La Cruz, town director of engineering and asset services.

It would range from $1,315 for a 3/4" water meter to $56,990 for a 6-inch meter. If established, the fee will increase annually, based on inflationary costs.

Connection fees would be charged to all new customers for new residential and nonresidential builders and for irrigation water meters. The fees will be collected once the water meter size has been confirmed and will be part of the development and building permit process.

Continued rapid growth has brought Cochrane within 6,000 people of tapping out its current water licence capacity.

In April 2021, town administration told council there was enough water licence capacity for 40,000 people. It was estimated to have an adequate water supply for 5.5 – 6.4 years of growth.

By the end of 2022, the town's population was estimated at 34,007 with 540 new dwellings available, including single-family, multi-unit residential, and accessory suites.

The bylaw will return to council for consideration for second and third reading.