An eight person evaluation committee, tasked with analysing each option for the future of Wallaceburg’s drinking water, has elected to stay with the status quo. And the Chatham-Kent PUC have also changed their course announcing their “preferred solution” is to rehabilitate the Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant.
A PUC report shows the option to rehabilitate the Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant using the existing intake scored the highest on the matrix completed by the evaluation committee, with an 85.50 score.
The option to connect to the Chatham water system via Eberts along Baseline Road, received the second highest score with 77.35.
The PUC are holding a meeting at their board room in Chatham on Thursday afternoon, and the Sydenham Current is in attendance to provide the latest information.
The PUC reports states the evaluation committee gave each of the options a score when they met on December 8 and January 14, under the following weighted criteria:
– Compliance and regulatory standards
– System reliability
– Optimization of existing infrastructure
– Natural environment
– Social cultural environment: i) public opinion/input ii) short term impacts/impacts to cultural heritage
– Water quality: i) raw water ii) treated water
– Land Use Planning
– Economic/Financial Impact: i) estimated capital costs ii) estimated operational and maintenance costs iii) future servicing needs
– Future class EA requirements
– Technical issues/requirements
The PUC report states the following figures were used by the evaluation committee when determining the financial impact portion of the evaluation – 2.a) is the Wallaceburg option, while 3.a) is the Chatham option, (see graphic):
The PUC report states future financial considerations that were not included as part of the Class EA process, but should be noted if the Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant is refurbished, include:
– The implementation of a treatment process for pH adjustment of the treated water
– Possible implementation of a treatment process for the removal of nitrates in the raw water
“It has been estimated that the capital cost of a treatment process for pH control is $125,000,” the PUC report states. “The estimated capital cost for a treatment system for nitrate removal is between $225,000 and $1 million; however, more analysis is required in order to determine the best treatment process to implement.”
The PUC report states all this information is set to be presented during the public meeting in Wallaceburg on Thursday evening, February 18.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., with a presentation set to start at 7 p.m.
Here is more background of the story: ‘This is important for our community’
A follow-up story will posted on Friday morning.
