Weeping tile woes in Starbuck and Domain

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2011 (5292 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Rural Municipality of Macdonald is considering a new bylaw that could hit homeowners in their pocketbooks.

Chief administrative officer Tom Raine said council is reviewing a bylaw that would restrict surface and storm water in the Domain and Starbuck area from flowing into the municipal sewer system.

The proposed bylaw, which was introduced at a March 8 council meeting, would require homeowners in these two communities to replace their homes’ weeping tiles with sump pits and backwater valves.

Raine said the change is needed to preserve the integrity of the municipality’s existing sewer system.

“This bylaw is being looked at to limit the amount of clean water running into our sewer system,” he said.

“This is to reduce the demands on our sewer system, which will be reflected in the volume that is going to our sewer lagoons and will extend the life of the lagoon and reduce operating costs.”

Weeping tiles are a drainage system around individual homes that drain excess water directly into the sewer system, while sump pumps discharge water above ground into the surrounding area. Raine estimates that converting from weeping tiles to sump pits could cost individual homeowners about $2,700.

 

That doesn’t sit well with Starbuck homeowner Dwight Cochrane, who has lived in the area since 1976.  
Cochrane said that while he understands that the municipality wants to protect the local sewer infrastructure, he doesn’t think homeowners should have to foot the bill for it.

“If the municipality is going to pay for the change then I say go ahead,” Cochrane said. “But I would be upset if I end up having to pay for this.”

Raine said council hopes to get provincial funding to help reduce the cost of converting systems for area homeowners.

“La Salle, Oak Bluff and Sanford have had this requirement for years,” he said. “We implemented this bylaw in those communities back in 2001 and at the time there were concerns about the associated costs. But the timing for this bylaw is to go in line with the provincial funding that would help pay for these conversions.”

Raine said that an application has been submitted to the province for the sump pump subsidy. The same subsidy is already being offered in Winnipeg and a handful of other Manitoba communities.

If the municipality’s application is approved, Domain and Starbuck residents could receive compensation of as much as 60% of the cost of installing a sump pit and backwater valve.

prescott.james@canstarnews.com