SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
The Eastern Irrigation District board has given second reading to a motion to increase its annual rates and have proposed setting aside a portion of the funds for work on the Snake Lake expansion.
Last week the EID board gave second reading to its rate bylaw which includes a $1 increase in the water rate to $6 per acre.
“Currently, money generated from the water rate and capital assets from new irrigation acres added to the assessment roll since the last plebiscite in 2021 are used to repay the Canada Infrastructure Bank loan,” said general manager Ivan Friesen.
Since the loan was signed the district has added about 11,506 irrigation acres.
If third reading is given, Friesen estimates that $1.8 million will be placed in reserve and remain there until the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is approved.
It’s expected that the approval will take at least a year.
