Woodlands County adopts asset management to plan for the future of the municipality

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Woodlands County Council received an update on a new program during their May 18 meeting. The program aims to bring together all the information about everything that falls under the bubble of Woodlands County. “Our hope today is that everyone will know a little bit more about what asset management is, why it matters and what value it can bring to our community,” explained Kara Kennedy, Manager Projects.

An asset provides the community with a service. Kennedy explained that assets include natural ecosystems, the constructed environment, and the equipment and resources needed to maintain it all.  “Each asset performs a function which provides a service that our residents value and have come to expect as part of their everyday lives. Management means actively caring for the things that we own and that we are responsible for. It means we do not wait for the crisis or a service failure before acting on something. Instead, we try and minimize those and prevent those events through active management and formalized planning.”

Kennedy said that an asset management plan could provide Council with what they need to make decisions. She said there are three main parts to it: risk, cost, and level of service. “Do we know what we own and where it is? What kind of condition is it? What needs to be done to the asset, and when might that need to be done? Asset management is a process used in decision-making. It helps us care for the infrastructure that delivers all these valuable services to our residents in a way that considers service needs in our community, manages the risks and opportunities, and uses our resources as wisely as possible.”

With this program, Kennedy said that department heads at the county and operators are talking more about their unique needs. “During these discussions, there’s always extra bits of knowledge that’s shared. Have we been doing this all along? Yes, in parts, but not fully. In reality, what we’ve been doing falls somewhere between accidental and intentional. So, we are necessarily reactive and, when possible proactive. Asset management allows us to be intentional with all of our resources.”

She said that asset management would allow them to plan for problems before they arise as much as possible rather than deal with issues as they present themselves. “Our community members want safe, sustainable resources delivered in a predictable cost-effective manner. Pretty simple. They do not want surprises. People get irritated when they experience service disruptions or poor quality services, and this is typically when I think council’s phones would ring off the hook.”

As elected officials, Kennedy said that Council needs the correct information before they make decisions. “If we are going to increase the service delivery in one area for an asset, that could increase the cost, and maybe then we have to reduce the budget somewhere else to cover that cost, but then we need to know what the risk is in doing that. It’s important information to know when we are setting direction for service levels and resource allocation, and council needs to have the full picture of the trade-offs for the decisions that we are going to make so we can make the best decisions.”   

The process of setting up an asset management plan is overwhelming because the sheer amount of data collected is astronomical. They started with the Water and Wastewater Networks to test out the system and use it as a learning tool when they go through the other assets. They had to collect the age of each system in Woodlands County, including what the pipes are made off, the ground they are sitting in, sizes, install dates, and all variables associated with it.

Kennedy explained that they did camera work inside the pipes in Fort Assiniboine and Blue Ridge. At the same time, other areas were graded on their life expectancy, meaning how long the lines might last. They rated each site from excellent to critical, and once the data was collected, they overlaid that onto a street map to see exactly where the issues were. Another added feature is that any complaints from residents will be attached to whichever area that issue is happening to have all the information in one spot.

Kennedy said the next step was to determine the replacement cost. Once compiled, they could plan out in advance when projects will need attention, letting the Council plan for the future by setting aside money for projects.

“Now that we have this information, we need to look at these lines and see what’s happening and adjust if required,” explained Kennedy.

The system showed that the service connections to residences in Blue Ridge and the storm sewer network in Fort Assiniboine need attention. She said culverts have a life expectancy of 50 years and were installed in the 1970s. “We have to get out there and determine if they are functioning since they are nearing their end of life. We are starting to get information that we can work with now that’s starting to tell us a story of what’s out there, the condition it’s in and where the problems and concerns might be.” She said that the plan would change based on each area’s characteristics, such as the type of ground they would be dealing with.

The Water and Wastewater Network asset management plan is not quite complete but will be soon. Mayor Burrows said that it’s no secret that they have been trying to get this program off the ground for a while and appeared happy with the presentation. He asked Kennedy about when the road study would be completed and added to the asset management plan. “We just started that process. The goal is to have all the roads accessed this summer, and we will be able to put that data together hopefully for the fall, for budget time.”

Mayor Burrows added that he expects the plan to result in serious public consultations about how people want to see the future of the municipality “grow up around them and how those service levels get provided.” Kennedy said that it definitely would include the public. “We are starting with a base of what our current service level is. Then we go from there.”