Town of Drumheller council gave second and third readings of amendments to the town’s current wastewater bylaw during the regular council meeting on Monday, August 23.
The amendments will allow large-volume business users not utilizing the wastewater system to meter their contributions for more accurate and fair billing; the changes will also allow multi-unit properties intended for rental, such as apartments and multi-unit commercial properties, to have additional options for water servicing and metering.
“We have companies in town that, over the last 10 or 11 years, have paid close to $1 million in wastewater disposal fees for water that never touched our wastewater system,” said Councillor Fred Makowecki during Monday’s meeting.
The proposed amendments to the bylaw were first brought to council during the June 10 council meeting with an online public engagement survey and public hearing following in July.
Prior to these amendments, all properties with water and sanitary service were billed a flat base rate for sanitary services based on water usage, estimated at 80 per cent of incoming water to account for summer water use for lawn and garden care.
This created a situation where businesses with higher water use and low sanitary use were being disproportionately billed.
One amendment to the bylaw will add the definition for “Process water,” or water which is completely consumed in manufacturing or production.
Administration identified some six high-volume accounts which use, on average, 130 times more water than the average residential customer.
This will mean a revenue reduction of approximately $63,000 annually, which will be downloaded to all users resulting in a nominal increase of $1.70 per month for the average residential user.
Councillor Tony Lacher and Councillor Kristyne Demott both stated during the meeting they were initially on the fence about the proposed bylaw changes; however, both changed their stance, calling the previous bylaw “unfair.”
Drumheller CAO Darryl Drohomerski says there are other municipalities with similar variations of the amended bylaw, including Calgary and Red Deer. He adds the changes will give the town “a leg up” in attracting new businesses to the valley, particularly those which consume high volumes of water in production such as food and beverage production.
Along with attracting new business, CAO Drohomerski says one of the six companies has already had a small employment expansion due to cost savings.
Council carried both second and third readings unanimously.

Back to school is just around the corner and the numbers at St. Anthony’s School are through the roof.
“We are anticipating one of the highest enrollments ever this coming year at approximately 450 students,” said Principal JoAnne Akerboom. “Our new students are mostly from families that are new to our community and transferring back from online learning. We are still able to maintain our small class sizes with these additional students because they are spread throughout the grades.”
The school has several new focus areas this year. St. Anthony’s School, in conjunction with Christ the Redeemer, enters Year II of its Three-Year Faith Theme, I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life, inspired by and taken from scripture in the Gospel of John. The three pillars from this verse will provide the direction to seek (Evangelize), to form (Catechesis), and transform (Service) all staff and students who enter our building.
“This framework will support the development and fostering of a holistic Catholic identity,” she said.
The school continues to work on its Champion Program aimed at ensuring every student in the school has an adult advocate from the school in their life.
Another program they are introducing is Healthy Schools. This promotes the spiritual, emotional, social, intellectual, and physical wellness of staff and students. Healthy Schools will focus on both recovery from the pandemic and a return to our normal levels of excellence in all areas.
St. Anthony’s School will have several teachers focus on preparing to pilot the new math curriculum, beginning with the summer 2021 creation of curriculum support documents that will help teachers to better understand the curriculum, while also allowing them to suggest edits, provide enrichment, and align resources.
St. Anthony’s School Council, in conjunction with Christ the Redeemer’s Board and administration, will initiate processes to engage parents, community influencers, students, and staff in reviewing results, identifying key issues, and developing strategies for improvement.
“As for the start of the school year this fall, I am excited to be returning to school. Although the last year was a very challenging year for everyone, students, parents and staff alike worked together to make it as positive as possible,” said Akerboom. “I would like to thank everyone for all the care and perseverance you have shown during this past crazy COVID year. You took everything in stride, the countless meetings (on-line or in-person), live-streaming, supporting each other, encouraging everyone to follow COVID protocols, and responding to each other’s needs.”
Students with last names starting with A-K will attend on Wednesday, September 1, and students with last names starting with L-Z commence classes on Thursday, September 2. All students return on Friday, September 3.