Rural residents in Wood Buffalo will get to choose from various payment options for system upgrades thanks to votes by the city council. Since residents who benefit from the water and sewer system upgrades will have to foot 10% of the total cost the city council has decided to offer various payment options in order to meet different resident needs. When the council met on September 23 they voted on using various payment options, and this will help to secure the roughly $16,000 that is needed for pipe upgrades. Residents who own property in Gregoire Lake Estates, Anzac, and Conklin will have a Local Improvement Tax assessed that the property owners will be subject to. Residents in Janvier and in Draper Road will be able to contract directly with city officials for any system upgrades desired.
The system upgrades being considered are necessary for the infrastucture, and the city council voted for the different payment options to ensure that all residents could choose the best option for their situation and circumstances. According to Allan Vinni, who is the councilor for Ward 3, “This is an awesome deal for every rural resident. It’s a lot of money… to say, let’s have everybody pay 10% of the average, that has an element of fairness to it.” The system upgrades were approved in July, and they will provide extensions that allow full pressure water systems and gravity sewer systems to some of the neighborhoods and areas involved. The other areas covered under the project will get trickle fill sewer systems and low pressure water systems.