Prince Rupert isn’t the only municipality dealing with financial headaches when it comes to the Watson Island pulp mill property.
According to District of Port Edward Mayor Dave MacDonald, the small village 15 minutes south of Prince Rupert is a few weeks away from taking over the title of the water lines that feed the former Skeena pulp mill property. The water lines from the dams at Diana Lake and Taylor Lake run along the highway entering the District (one water line is pictured above).
If property ownership does convert over to the District on September 28, the annual maintenance costs could dwarf what the City of Prince Rupert has paid over the 11 months it has owned the property.
MacDonald said he expected the costs to run about at least $1 million per year based on previous spending when the mill was operating. The annual budget for the District is just over $1.5 million, so taking over ownership is not an ideal situation for Port Edward.
“I don’t know where Port Edward is going to get the money to do maintenance on that water line,