Municipal plans to put a water line through the Patricia Street Condos’ green space and playground area had residents up in arms at a public meeting last week.

The water main is needed to connect the well field near Connaught Drive in the west end of town with the reservoir at Cabin Creek. The town, represented at the meeting by Director of Environmental Services Ken Quackenbush, presented three options for the final section of the water line.

The first and least expensive option is the route that leads through the condo green space. Quackenbush told those in attendance that construction on that section of the line could be completed in as little as two weeks.

Both of the remaining potential routes involve tearing up Patricia Street, an expensive and time-consuming practice, Quackenbush said.

If the line was to avoid the condo development, it would either cut directly through an undeveloped portion of the adjoining Trijon property or continue further along Patricia Street and be routed through a stand of trees at the edge of the Trijon property line.

Trijon Planning and Development has already spoken to the town and told Quackenbush that they want to keep the empty part of their property free for possible future development although they have no expansion or development plans at present.

Burying the line along Patricia Street would cost $47,000 more for the second option and an additional $90,000 if it was routed all the way around the Trijon property, Quackenbush said.

“Besides that, you’ve got the traffic disruption factor and the potential for delays because there are already several lines under Patricia Street. We’d need to squeeze everything in,” he said. At least a month would be required to run the line down the street.

Condo residents in attendance expressed concern about the after effects of the project. The water main would be buried four metres underground and the corridor opened through the green space and forest to allow for construction would be six metres from side to side.

“It’s a lovely, natural green area,” said condo resident Glenda Froland. “We’re concerned that it’s never, ever going to look the same again.”

Froland and others gathered in the Multi-Purpose Hall said they hoped that money was not the only concern for the municipality.

“It would be nice if we don’t just look at the dollar costs,” Froland said.

Quackenbush responded by claiming that rehabilitation plans could make the area a more enjoyable space.

“I’m confident that with proper mitigations, we can put it back to nicer than it was,” he said.

A total of twenty five trees would be lost should the line be run through the Patricia Street condo property. This area may have been replanted in any case, Quackenbush said, adding that condo residents could play a role in determining what the reconstructed green space and playground would look like.

“We can pretty much do what you want there,” he said.

Some condo dwellers expressed concern about the town’s approach to the issue.

“We didn’t get any advance consultation,” one said. “Instead there was a notice on our door saying that it was happening and telling us about this meeting. It’s easy to get riled up when you get a notice on your door.”

Other residents questioned Quackenbush and Municipal Manager George Krefting on safety measures, noise pollution and the time frame for cleanup after the line has been laid. 

The town officials informed the crowd that the municipal noise bylaw would be followed and that they would make every effort to remove debris and return the area to normal once the line was completed. They also agreed to provide more information to the condo residents, including re-staking the potential route for the water line through the property.

Given the tenor of the discussion, it was unsurprising that one resident asked if a decision had, in effect, been made already.

“No final decisions have been made,” Quackenbush insisted. “We do need a decision fairly soon, because it all takes time.” The town would like to see excavation starting in May of next year, but needs to be able to offer tenders to construction firms as soon as possible to avoid delays due to the availability of equipment and manpower once summer begins.

A draft environmental assessment prepared by Parks Canada and the municipality of Jasper  recommends approval for the planned route for the water line. The main would run down from Cabin Creek via Poplar Avenue before branching through the Patricia Street property.

The entire water well project has been budgeted to cost $3.3 million dollars. Three quarters of the cost will be borne by the federal and provincial governments, while municipal rate payers will pay for the remaining $825,000.  The annual operation and maintainence costs for the well system will cost Jasperites in the range of $110,000 per year.

It is unlikely that any of the new water mains will have to be repaired in the foreseeable future, Quackenbush said. 

“The chances are pretty remote,” he said, citing the water line into town from Old Fort Point that was laid in 1982 and has never been dug up.

The basic qualities of Jasper’s water aren’t likely to change once taps are served by the well system, he added. 

“We have nice hard water and it’s unlikely to change very much....there will be less chlorine eventually.”