Water and wastewater will once again be a Town controlled utility.

The Town of Okotoks will be ending it's contract with EPCOR who's been providing the service for 13 years

The change comes as a result of administration being directed to look at value for money by starting with water and wastewater utilities. Investigation showed the Town could provide the same service at a reduced cost.

Chris Radford, Infrastructure and Operations Director for the Town, says there will be no direct change to residents.

"Utility billing won't change, it's just currently being done through Town staff and the Town who residents receive their utility bill from. The direct service delivery for customer inquiry service calls, that will continue to be done by staff through EPCOR for up to 18 months."

The Town has said there will be no adjustments in water and waste water services with the greatest change being in internal processes as the Town assumes responsibility for managing customer inquiries and overseeing maintenance and field operations.

Radford explains they've made sure staff with EPCOR are safe through the process.

"Once the official transition takes place, it's anticipated many of those staff will transfer over to the Town, that is part of the contractual agreement that the Town offer employment in the same positions to the current field staff that currently the services within in the Town."

The transition of water and wastewater utilities becoming a town controlled utility will take place near the end of 2019 or early 2020.

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