Ashcroft Council passed a resolution to apply for over $5 million from a Canada-British Columbia infrastructure fund to help pay for a new municipal water system.
Council approved the application for $5,273,333 at its Nov. 20 meeting. The sum represents two-thirds of the expected cost of the new system. The Village will be expected to provide the remaining $2,636,667.
Approximately $350,000 from the Village’s Gas Tax Fund would be used to help pay the municipal share of the cost, with the rest coming from future revenues and an increase in water utility rates. The cost of water currently stands at $274 per year per property, and this would rise, starting in 2016, to approximately $400 per year by 2019, when it is hoped the new water system will be up and running.
The new system will use filters, UV, and some chlorinaton to treat the water.