DUGOUTS

Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Water Pumping Program

With this springs extreme dryness coupled with a dry fall in 2022, producers in the Municipal District of Bonnyville may be experiencing water shortages.

The Alberta Agricultural and Irrigation Water Pumping program is intended to assist producers in obtaining water for domestic, livestock, or agricultural purposes. For a nominal fee, producers can apply to rent pipe and pumping equipment to fill dugouts or other suitable catch basins from nearby water sources. Full-time Alberta agricultural producers experiencing water shortages for domestic and livestock have priority for the use of equipment.

When applying to the program be prepared to provide the following information:

• Name

• Phone number

• Address/legal land description

• Municipal District/County

• Water source

• Distance to be pumped

• Estimated lift

• Date equipment wanted

• Days required

Applications can be accessed by visiting www.alberta.ca/water-pumping-program.aspx.

Once your application has been received and approved, a coordinator from the water pumping program will be in contact with you to coordinate the equipment delivery.

For more information contact the Agricultural Services Department at 780-826-3951.

Roadside Spraying Program 2023

The Agricultural Service Board of the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87 and/or contractors have started spraying roadside ditches along provincial highways and municipal rightof-ways, as required to control the spread of weeds and brush at the beginning of June. Spraying will continue throughout the summer until the end of September.

Landowners who wish to control the weeds adjacent to their property, on municipal right-of-ways may do so by signing a Weed Control Agreement. This agreement allows the landowner to control weeds instead of using herbicide. If you fail to administer control, the M.D. may control them with methods they deem appropriate. A copy of the Weed Control Agreement can be found on our website at md.bonnyville.ab.ca.

Landowners living along Primary or Secondary Highways should contact Emcon, the provinical maintenance contractor, with any questions related to weed control.

Landowners are reminded that the road allowances are owned by the M.D. or by the province (in the case of provincial highways), and any activity carried out within the road allowances are done at their own risk.

For more information contact the Agricultural Services Department at 780-826-3951.

During the first week of October, residents will see changes in the operation of the Fort Kent and Ardmore landfills.

Fort Kent will be transitioning to a bin site, which will allow M.D. residents to drop off their household waste and recyclables 24 hours a day, seven days per week. This makes things a little more convenient for residents — the Fort Kent landfill is currently open three days a week, with limited hours and access. The change will bring the Fort Kent site into alignment with the level of service offered at many of the M.D.’s 30 community bin sites. Items such as Class 3 waste, appliances, metal, paint, electronics, and burnable wood will now be directed to the Ardmore Landfill.

Of note, 74% of visits to the Fort Kent Landfill in 2022 were to drop off household waste and recycling.

At the Ardmore Landfill, there will be a few updates.

The days of operation will expand to five days per week — Tuesday to Saturday — while maintaining the same hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. An automated entry gate system will also be installed further into the site. This system will allow landfill access to M.D. ratepayers using a proximity card or a cell phone app. The purpose of this is to free up landfill staff to be more hands-on with assisting and educating residents on the proper use of the landfill, while automatically tracking the usage of the site, as required by the Code of Practice of Landfills.

M.D. ratepayers will be able to register for a waste utility account for one or both access tools at no additional charge once the cards arrive. Stay tuned to md.bonnyville.ab.ca and our socials for updates.

Under Construction

Township Road 610 from Highway 28 to Range Road 460 will be under construction from May 22 to October 30, 2023.

During this time, this portion of Twp. Rd. 610 will be open to local traffic only. Intersections along Twp. Rd. 610 may be closed intermittently. However, access to residents will remain open. The contractor completing the road re-construction will have traffic accommodations in place. Please follow all traffic signs and drive slowly and carefully through construction zones.

Please see the map to the right for details.

For more information, contact the Prime Contractor at 780-293-9419