Preferred options for a wastewater system that could
cost $118 million and swell the urban population to 14,600 were presented to
Erin town council on January 9.
This is the first detailed look at how sewer service
could be provided to most homes in Hillsburgh and Erin village, as the town
pushes to complete an Environmental Assessment (EA) that had its first public
meeting in 2009.
No decisions have been made, and it will still be more
than five years until sewers could be operational.
A Public Information Centre will be held on Friday,
Feb. 2 in the Centre 2000 theatre, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with a presentation
at 7 p.m. A series of reports analyzing options for the project can be
downloaded from the wastewater section of the town website.
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A view of the West Credit River facing the Tenth Line from approximately 20 m downstream.
This would be the area closest to the proposed sewage treatment plant where effluent could be discharged.
Because this is an important spawning area for Brook Trout, the plan is to pipe the
effluent further east and discharge it near Winston Churchill Blvd.
Photo - Hutchinson Environmental Sciences Ltd.
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Highlights of the recommendations include a main trunk
sewer line that uses Daniel Street instead of Main Street, to reduce impact on
the downtown business district.
The treatment plant would be on a 12-acre site near
Tenth Line and Wellington Road 52 (Bush Street), either on Solmar-owned land on
the north side, or on Halton Crushed Stone land on the south (after gravel
extraction).
There would be a pipe to discharge the effluent into
the West Credit River downstream at the Caledon border (Winston Churchill
Boulevard), which could cost $1.2 million.
A gravity-based system is recommended for most parts of
Hillsburgh and Erin village, based on a complex scoring system that covers
criteria such as social/cultural, technical, environmental and economic factors.
The advantages and disadvantages of collection
technologies, including alternatives such as small-bore, low pressure and
vacuum systems have been researched and reported in a public technical
memorandum
Gravity sewers will require large trenches during
construction. Some low-lying areas will need a low-pressure system to avoid the
cost of extra pumping stations. There will be pressurized forcemains in several
locations, and a major forcemain recommended along the Elora Cataract Trailway to
move sewage from Hillsburgh to Erin village.
All property owners receiving service will not only
have to share the construction cost, but also pay a one-time charge averaging
$5,100 to hook up to the system once it is available and pay a new, ongoing
wastewater bill based partly on usage that could average $400 to $500 per year.
“Providing wastewater services within our community is
no longer a matter of if, but when – the status quo is no longer an option,”
said Mayor Al Alls in an open letter to residents, available at erin.ca.
“Our town needs to grow, and it needs to diversify. This
is entirely dependent upon bringing a wastewater treatment plant into our
community, which will allow us to be competitive in attracting new businesses.
The opportunity is before us now, and we have but one chance to effect real and
positive change.”
The EA process is scheduled to be complete by this
June, and the results could be appealed to the Minister of the Environment and
Climate Change. After that, even if it is financially viable, the project would
still need an estimated 18 months for final design, one year for government
approval and two years for tendering and construction.
Consultant Joe Mullan, President of Ainley Group that
was contracted complete Phases 3-5 of the EA, told council that the estimated
cost to service existing urban residents (about 4,500 people) and businesses would
be in the range of $50 million to $60 million.
There would be an additional cost of $58 million to $68
million to service future growth – which does not include the cost of sewers
within the subdivisions. If the cost for existing residents is at the low end
of its range, the cost for future growth will be at the high end of its range,
and vice versa.
The town is primarily concerned with financing the service
to existing urban properties, since developers and future landowners will pay
for the growth portion. The share of the cost for each connected household is
estimated at $20,000 to $25,000, but the actual amount is expected to be much
lower.
The town does not have the borrowing capacity to
finance a $50 million project, so it will be seeking major funding from the
federal and provincial governments, pre-payment of development charges and extra
contributions from developers. The town could delay servicing for some areas to
limit initial costs, and could also enter into a partnership to bring in
private sector investment or management.
“All funding options remain on the table – we will make
the most fiscally responsible decision possible for our future,” said Alls.
It was five years ago, during Phase 2 of the EA (the Servicing
and Settlement Master Plan – SSMP) that consultant Matt Pearson of B.M. Ross
gave a rough estimate of $60 million to build an Erin sewer system. That was
based on limited information, but it accounted for the urban population growing
to 9,000-12,000. That was later scaled back to 6,000, and then more recently
bumped up to 14,600, with growth over 20-30 years.
“This larger serviced population provides
the opportunity for cost sharing between the existing community and growth, and
hence reduce the capital costs to the existing community,” said Mullan.
In 2014, Gary Scanlon of Watson & Associates
Economists said if the Town could get two-thirds (66.6%) of a $58.5 million
system covered by government grants, it would leave the Town some flexibility
for other borrowing, and reduce the capital cost per household to about $9,300.
Such costs are normally repaid over many years, like a loan, through the
property tax bill.
Some neighbourhoods with large lots and newer septic
systems are to be excluded from sewer service, meaning that they will not have
to contribute directly to the costs. These are: the Upper Canada Drive
subdivision in Hillsburgh, the Credit River Road – Pine Ridge Road area near
the Tenth Line, and the Delarmbro Drive – Patrick Drive – Erinwood Drive area
near Eighth Line and Country Road 124.
Some of those homes could be brought into the system
later if other nearby lands were being developed.
The system is tentatively sized and designed for a
water usage rate of 380 litres of water per person per day, including a
90-litre allowance for possible “infiltration” – the water that often leaks
into traditional gravity sewers, increasing the volume that a treatment plant
must handle.
The 380 L rating has been criticized as too high, but
Mullan defended building extra capacity, saying it would add “robustness” and
give the town flexibility – especially as the system inevitably deteriorates in
the latter part of its approximately 50-100 year lifespan.
At
the urging of Councillor Jeff Duncan, Ainley will analyze the impact of
reducing the rating. This could reduce the cost of the treatment plant, or
permit an even higher level of population growth.