Title
Options to Manage Wastewater Over-strength Charges from ARROW Utilities
Proposed Motions
1. That Council direct Administration to meet with ARROW Utilities to address the wastewater over-strength charges being levied to Parkland County wastewater transfer stations.
2. That Council approve Option 3 including the approval of $200,000 in Water and Wastewater Restricted Surplus funding to complete a detailed design and cost estimate for the construction of a full sewage treatment facility at the existing Stony Plain Wastewater Transfer Station, as presented.
Body
Administration Recommendation
Administration is recommending Option 3, as it is the next best alternative.
Option 4 is the only option that aligns the wastewater over-strength disposal charges with actual concentrations being disposed of. However, this option was less desirable due to the reluctance from private haulers to separate holding tank wastewater from septic tank wastewater - citing that it would lead to increased trucking costs for residents that outweigh potential savings from the lower over-strength charges.
Purpose
The purpose of this submission is to present Council alternatives to lower the wastewater over-strength charges currently being imposed by ARROW Utilities.
Summary
On June 25th, 2024, Council passed a resolution that required all private wastewater haulers to install a county-owned GPS unit in their vehicles when using County wastewater transfer stations facilities. Additionally, they were required to separate septic tank (over-strength) wastewater from holding tank (non over-strength) wastewater to ensure only holding tank wastewater is disposed of at the Stony Plain transfer station. However, due to significant opposition from the private haulers regarding the mandatory installation of a County-owned GPS unit and the requirement to separately dispose of holding tank wastewater, Council did not approve 3rd reading of the proposed amending bylaw 2024-17 on September 10, 2024. Administration also supported defeating the proposed amending bylaw due to the negative feedback from haulers and proposed investigating a more cost effective and less intrusive alternative.
Administration is now including an option that includes a mobile- (cellphone) based GPS application that would provide an accurate electronic manifest as well as help ensure the proper separation of wastewater disposal at the designated transfer stations. (Option 4 below)
Since the Special Council Meeting on July 10, 2024, ARROW Utilities’ over-strength charges for the period from July 1st to December 31, 2024 have risen to an annual equivalent amount of $520,250/yr. This is an increase over the previous charge for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2024 having an annual equivalent amount of $558,646/yr.
Administration has outlined 4 options in the attached document for Council's consideration to determine the future direction for managing the two wastewater transfer stations and how to address the wastewater over-strength charges from ARROW Utilities.
Option 1 - captures the costs necessary to recover the County's expenses for operating the wastewater transfer stations as they currently stand. The County is currently incurring a loss of approximately $280,000 per year by charging only $10m/3 instead of the necessary cost recovery rate of $20/m3. As a result, this option proposes doubling the current rate, which would lead to a major increase in annual costs for holding tank owners and a significant but smaller annual increase for septic tank owners.
Option 2 - involves constructing a partial wastewater treatment plant similar to the existing facility in Nisku, which only removes large sediments, oil and grease. Administration anticipates that this option would only partially reduce the current over-strength charges to approximately $343,000/yr with a necessary cost recovery rate of $16/m3. This rate would still result in a significant annual cost increase for holding tank owners and a minor increase for septic tank owners. The Villeneuve wastewater station would be closed with this option.
Option 3 - involves constructing a full wastewater treatment plant that may eliminate all over-strength wastewater charges. The wastewater disposal charges are expected to be higher than the current charges due to the increased capital and operating costs, but those costs may be reduced if grant funding is obtained. Without grant funding, the adjusted rates would still result in an annual cost increase for holding tank owners and a relatively minor increase for septic tank owners. The Villeneuve wastewater transfer station would be closed with this option.
Option 4 - involves only allowing holding tank wastewater to be disposed of at the Stony Plain wastewater transfer station, while the Villeneuve wastewater transfer station would continue to accept all wastewater as it currently does. This approach would significantly reduce or even eliminate over-strength charges for holding tank owners and lead to a substantial increase in cost recovery for septic tank owners at the Villeneuve location.
Additionally, instead of the incurring the higher disposal rate at the Villeneuve transfer station, haulers would have the option to dispose of wastewater at a much lower cost at an alternate facility. Also, to ensure compliance, a GPS system would be required to provide accurate manifests to confirm that only holding tank wastewater is being disposed of at the Stony Plain transfer station. Administration is proposing a mobile cellphone app for this purpose, which would be less intrusive and likely face less opposition from haulers than the previously proposed truck-mounted GPS system.
Please note that any reduction in wastewater disposal rates only lowers costs to the wastewater haulers. Since the haulers ultimately determine the charges for our residents, we cannot guarantee or control what fees they may impose on our residents.
Historical Information:
RFD 23-174, RFD 24-119, RFD 24-142, RFD 24-158, BL 24-028, BL 24-030, RFD 24-253
Strategic Plan/Policy/Legal/Staff Implications:
Responsible Leadership: to strive for organizational excellence in delivering County Services and programs to residents, businesses and community groups
Financial Impact:
Source of Funding: $200,000 Water and Wastewater Restricted Surplus