Beneath every city street in Saskatchewan lays a maze of infrastructure - pipes and wires and cables that keep water running and lights humming.
It's easy to forget that when looking at the neat and tidy streets above ground, but infrastructure management is a messy and very important part of the operation of any municipality. Communities of Tomorrow was an organization that never forgot that lesson and, even though it's soon to be gone, that lesson will live on.
A public-private partnership in operation since 2003, Communities of Tomorrow preached innovation in municipal infrastructure and worked with the city of Humboldt several times over the years.
"They were sort of creating a living lab scenario," said Humboldt mayor Malcolm Eaton, "doing research to help municipalities deal with infrastructure issues. We were very interested in this; we contributed funds and were able to have our staff benefit from being involved with Communities of Tomorrow and other municipalities."
Humboldt's most notable association with Communities of Tomorrow involved working together on a project to improve how water lines are maintained and repaired, a bread-and-butter issue for towns and cities everywhere.
Communities of Tomorrow will be closing up shop at the end of the month after its funding sources dried up. The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) will carry on its mandate by archiving its documents and managing a $200,000 fund that Communities of Tomorrow will leave behind. Laurent Mougeot, SUMA's CEO, saw an opportunity to promote networking and innovation among municipalities that too often operate in isolation.
"What municipalities haven't done in the past is share problem solving and innovation," Mougeot said. "Imagine one municipality finds a better way to fix a water connection, but doesn't call the neighbours down the road to say, 'Hey, we've got a better mousetrap.'"
Mougeot said it's easy for people to forget how many services municipalities are responsible for and how essential so many of those services are for day-to-day life.
"Imagine if the water went bad in Regina," he said. "How many people would go to the hospital? It can get complicated very quickly."
"Lots of municipalities distribute water, but we can't recall that like GM can recall tires," he added.
The loss of Communities of Tomorrow stings Eaton, who saw great potential in the organization.
"This was pulling us [municipalities] together and creating a network. It's somewhat disappointing to see it end; I think it was only beginning to reach its potential."
