There are thousands of kilometers of water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure connecting homes and businesses in rural Alberta – and no matter what type of utility you look at or what region they’re in, you’ll find that this essential infrastructure is able poor and in need of significant investment, according to a new Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) report.

RMA’s Water Utility Asset Shortage Report used municipal data and surveys to assess the condition, lifespan and cost of repair of infrastructure managed by its members.

In the report, the lifespan and health of that rural infrastructure was examined as a single portfolio.

This portfolio had an average condition rating of 67 percent and its effective age was estimated to be just over 50 years, based on an average useful life of approximately 65 years.

The funding needed to bring infrastructure to its most manageable and cost-effective state is $2.96 billion more than rural municipalities currently have access to.

The RMA recently launched similar studies of road and bridge conditions in rural Alberta that identified comparable funding shortfalls.

Unlike the province’s roads, however, the report states there are no diversions or alternative options that can be taken if the water infrastructure fails.

“Utilities such as water, electricity and stormwater are essential services that must remain reliable and operational in all conditions. The failure or underperformance of these critical services can have serious consequences, impacting both daily life and emergency response capabilities,” the report said.

Maxine Fodness, Deputy County Executive of St. Paul, said the main problem he faces is the aging water distribution and sewage lines in his hamlets. Distribution lines are the pipes that connect individual houses.

In Ashmont, the lines date back to the 1960s. Mallaig and Lottie Lake had distribution lines installed in the 1970s, although in the case of Lottie Lake, the pipe was used from the town of St. Paul, Fodness said.

“So we brought water to our little hamlets and the distribution lines fail. Or they are old and need to be replaced. The province currently has no funding for that,” Fodness said.

Without provincial support, the only options for the county would be to raise taxes or take out loans. For Fodness and St. Paul County, this is out of the question.

“If we don’t get help from the province, we just can’t afford to do it. Because the residents can’t afford to pay for it,” Fodness said.

The utilities surveyed in the RMA report serve approximately 714,000 people. If those taxpayers were to cover the $2.96 billion infrastructure shortfall, it would cost each person $4,150.

The two main sources of infrastructure funding in rural Alberta are the federal Canada Community Building Fund and the province’s Local Government Funding Framework (LGFF).

The amount each municipality receives from the LGFF is calculated using a formula where population is 65 percent of the weight. The RMA said this formula disadvantages sparsely populated but infrastructure-dense regions of rural Alberta.

In 2024, rural municipalities will receive approximately $149 million in LGFF funding.

Westlock County President Christine Wiese said while the main water lines connecting the hamlets to the treatment facilities were upgraded in 2019, the condition of the pipes in the communities is a bit of a mystery.

“Those (distribution lines) haven’t been touched in years. We connected the new lines to the hamlets, but we need to have a study of what exactly is going on underneath for the infrastructure for the water lines,” she. said.

Wiese said that study is already underway and the results will be presented to the board in the coming weeks.

“This is a report we needed to help us just develop a more focused plan and prioritize upgrades that will be specifically based on each Hamlet.”

The RMA report notes that many rural municipalities do not have the resources or systems to record the condition of utility assets, which affects their ability to make informed decisions about capital projects.

These data blind spots and inconsistent asset management practices across the province, the report states, “result in disparities in infrastructure conditions across the province, with some areas receiving adequate attention and resources while others experience accelerated deterioration and increased risks”.

The full report can be accessed on RMA website.