“We want quality water,” shouted one person. “We want Wallaceburg water,” yelled another.
The room of 100 plus people at the UAW Hall in Wallaceburg on Tuesday evening was emotional and passionate about what their preferred option is for the future of Wallaceburg’s drinking water.
Stantec Consulting, who was hired by the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission to conduct an environmental assessment of the future of Wallaceburg’s water, held their third public information meeting since under taking the project last year.
Engineers with Stantec, along with Tom Kissner, general manager of the Chatham-Kent PUC gave a similar presentation to what they provided in November, along with fielding questions from the public.
They reiterated the fact that of the four potential options, which includes rehabilitating the current Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant, Stantec’s “preferred alternative” is to connect to the Chatham water supply, which gets its water from Lake Erie.
Many people in the crowd expressed their opinions throughout the night, some of the comments include:
– “You’re catering the study to the result you want to choose.”
– “There are no real figures on what it will cost.”
– “There is a lot of information about Chatham, but not about Wallaceburg.”
– “We’re interested in quality drinking water.”
Kissner told the Sydenham Current he anticipated that the Wallaceburg crowd would be emotional.
“Certainly nothing that was unexpected,” he said.
“We realize there is individuals in Wallaceburg that are passionate about wanting to maintain what is existing now. We certainly heard their comments and their input. All I can do is encourage them to provide those in writing so they can be included as part of this Class EA process and can be included as part of the evaluation matrix.”
Kissner said public input is a part of this evaluation, and the preferred alternative is not set in stone.
“15 per cent of the evaluation matrix is based on public input,” Kissner said. “The other consideration is administration, and while it is probably not popular with people in Wallaceburg, but the other consideration that I have to have is I don’t just work for the people in Wallaceburg, I work for all the rate payers within Chatham-Kent. I’ve got to look out for the best interest of everyone and can’t just focus on one group.”
Kissner said the preferred solution is expected to go to the Commision in September or October.
Before that takes place, an evaluation committee will be formed to analyze the options from the environmental assessment.
Kissner said the committee, which has yet to be finalized, will include Coun. Jeff Wesley, Coun. Carmen McGregor, Kris Lee from the Wallaceburg Advisory Team for a Cleaner Habitat (WATCH) group, a member of the Wallaceburg BIA, and other members of the community.
“We are trying to bring together a broad spectrum of individuals,” Kissner said.
Wesley said the final decision will rest with the PUC
“There’s the Stantec component and than there is the evaluation committee component, which will determine what the preferred alternative is and that preferred alternative with go to the PUC who will either accept it, reject it, modify it.”
PUC members in attendance at the meeting were Wesley, Coun. Trevor Thompson, Coun. Brock McGregor and Coun. David Vandamme. Not in attendance were Mayor Randy Hope, the chair of the PUC, Coun. Bryon Fluker and North Kent Coun. Leon Leclair.
Wesley said it is important to lobby the other members of the PUC about this issue.
“That’s why I mentioned their names at the end. Anybody who knows them, I’m sure in this room some that know Leon and some that know other members on the PUC and that’s who they need to talk to. It really is, that’s where it has got to come from. I invited them to be here tonight and obviously some couldn’t make it because of their commitments but its good the ones that were here and I will say that the PUC did support me when I lobbied to get this public meeting held here because I was not happy with the previous one.”
Coun. Carmen McGregor told the Sydenham Current she is happy the evaluation component has been added.
“Coun. Wesley and I will have to make sure and see what the make up of the committee is and make sure that is balanced and presented so we can get a good answer back here and see where we go from there,” she said.
“I’m not going to say it’s a done deal because until we have fought with every bit that we have within this community to assure that we have the best quality water available for people that live in Wallaceburg. That is the whole point for me is water quality and safety with the water being provided to our community.”
Wesley added the support for the Wallaceburg option is evident.
“I have not come across anyone who supports the Lake Erie option. Bar none. This is former water commissioners, the BIA, Chamber of Commerce, this is the general public, this is WATCH, our MP, our MPP. You know, it defies logic that they would go ahead and do something, but I’m one vote out of seven on the PUC. That’s the reality of it and we have to depend on some of those people to support our alternative.”
Stantec outlined the financial impact of each alternative, with upgrading the Wallaceburg Treatment Plant costing approximately $3.4 million in the short term for capital costs to rehabilitate the existing facility. However, Stantec said staying with the Wallaceburg option, the long-term forecast of 40 years would see it costing upwards to $67.2 million.
Stantec’s preferred option of connecting to the Chatham drinking water system would cost more in the short term for capital cost, approximately $11.9 million to $20.3 million, depending on which of the four design solutions are chosen. The projected 40-year financial outlook ranges from $37.5 million to $41.2 million.
