Moose Jaw city council to vote Monday on its water main pipes in contentious local improvement program

MOOSE JAW – It’s no secret aging infrastructure is a pressing issue in Moose Jaw specifically its cast iron pipes.

The contentious issue has been on the minds and agenda of both council and residents over the past year.

“It’s a project that’s been neglected for a long time,”

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The city said Moose Jaw needs to replace 80 kilometres of water main infrastructure over the next 20 years. The repairs will come at a minimum cost of $117 million dollars.

The city proposes to pay the 70 per cent, and residents living on the affected streets will be required to cover the remaining 30 per cent, out of their own pockets.

READ MORE: Moose Jaw residents concerned about paying for water main replacement

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“It’s only about 33 per cent of the community that’s affected by cast iron, so it’s not the entire community that will see the work done, it’s only a percentage of the community”, city councilor Heather Eby explained.

On the other end of that debate is Justin Hammer who believes the entire city will be affected.

At a cost of $170 per frontage foot, his own personal property would cost roughly $5,100 if the bylaw goes through.

However he said what he may pay is insignificant compared to what other residents could be paying.

“The fact is that businesses, schools, churches, and non profits will also be affected.”

The city acknowledges the work needs to be done and the funding has to come from a tax base one way or another.

“Everyone I talked to really knows this work needs to be done. They just don’t want to be the ones to pay for it directly.”

City council is expected to give a third and final reading Monday evening regarding the bylaw. The council meeting was originally planned for May 2nd but was rescheduled to accommodate a councilor’s schedule.

Currently four councilors are in favour of the program, and three are against.

Moose Jaw residents say they will be demonstrating outside city hall Monday evening and will continue into council chambers at 6:30 p.m.