Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, celebrated the grand opening of its new $30-million wastewater treatment plant on September 17, 2026, marking a major upgrade from the aging lagoon system that served the community for decades. The new mechanical plant, located at the existing site near Highway 11 southeast of 71 Avenue, is designed to meet stricter provincial and federal environmental rules and accommodate future growth.
The facility is a Class III Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) system that can serve up to 9,000 residents and processes wastewater from both Rocky Mountain House and Clearwater County. The old lagoon will be decommissioned, and its three ponds repurposed for water storage before treated effluent returns to the river system.
Mayor Shane Boniface and other council members were on hand for the ceremony, along with representatives from Clearwater County. The project was funded through about $20 million in federal and provincial grants, including money from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program and the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership. Local taxpayers contributed roughly $7.5 million, while Clearwater County added $2.7 million under a cost-sharing agreement.
Residents saw a utility rate increase on January 1, 2026, to help cover the higher operating costs. The new plant costs about $1 million per year to run, a big jump from the old lagoon. The average home using 14 cubic metres of water per month now pays about $10 more each month.
On its first day, the plant processed 2,709 cubic metres of wastewater, showing it is ready for normal operations. Town officials say the new facility will provide more reliable service and better environmental protection for the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan Rivers, which meet near the town.
Construction began in September 2023 after years of planning and was completed with additional provincial funding of $2.6 million to cover cost increases due to inflation. The Town of Rocky Mountain House says the new plant positions the community to handle anticipated growth while meeting modern environmental standards.
