There are thousands of kilometres of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure connecting homes and businesses in rural Alberta – and no matter the type of utility you look at or the region it’s in, you’ll find this essential infrastructure is in poor condition and in need of significant investment, according to a new report from the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA).
RMA’s asset deficit report on water utilities used municipal data and surveys to evaluate the condition, lifespan, and cost of repair of the infrastructure its members manage.
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 per cent, and its effective age was estimated at just over 50 years, based on an average useful life of about …