(File photo/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Elliott Knopp

Water Agreement

Meadow Lake, Flying Dust First Nation agree to three-year water supply agreement extension

Jul 5, 2021 | 1:14 PM

The City of Meadow Lake and Flying Dust First Nation (FDFN) Council have come to an agreement that will see the communities’ current potable water supply agreement extend across the next three years.

While some minor changes have been made to the water rates, the other terms of the deal aren’t expected to see any changes.

The agreement will be in effect until the end of the newly agreed term which expires on June 30, 2024. During this time, FDFN will be expected to cover its own infrastructure costs and match the consumption rates set by SaskWater. Effective July 1, 2021, the rate of water is set at $2.66 per cubic meter. On Jan 1, 2022, the rate will increase to $2.85 per cubic meter, seeing another increase on Jan 1, 2023 to $3.05 per cubic meter before increasing to the deal’s final denomination of $3.26 per cubic meter in 2024.

Mayor Merlin Seymour explained this deal will help maintain the neighbouring communities’ relationship while keeping the agreement moving forward. He added the increase in usage rates come as a result of decisions made by SaskWater.

“This is basically a continuation of the agreement we’ve had with Flying Dust First Nation for a number of years now. FDFN is basically responsible for the water and all of the infrastructure once it leaves the water treatment plant. The rate has changed a little bit just because of SaskWater, but the rates have been agreed to by FDFN as well as the city,” Seymour said.

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City documents state the agreement between the communities has effectively been in place since 1980. It is mentioned that an analysis of the deal over the past decade has determined that the city has worked to match the water rates as close as possible to the consumption rates charged to residents in the city without any mark ups or subsidies.

The announcement comes at a time when the Government of Saskatchewan and the Government of Canada announced it would be partially funding the purchase of a new water clarification system ordered by the City of Meadow Lake.

The new system is expected to improve the distribution of water services to both communities while easing the workload being handled by the current unit.

meadowlakeNOW reached out to Flying Dust First Nation for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publishing.

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elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp