Erin water services outsourced

Erin’s drinking water systems are under new management.

The town signed an interim agreement on June 11 with the Ontario Clean Water Agency, a crown corporation that will now deal with all aspects of local drinking water quality, delivery and infrastructure maintenance.

“As we transition with OCWA, we would like to express to residents that there will be no delay or interruptions in regular water services,” said Communications Officer Jessica Spina.

The systems in Hillsburgh and Erin village will continue to be owned by the municipality, with town council responsible for oversight.

Members of the water department staff who expressed an interest in continuing to work on the local systems as employees of OCWA have been offered positions, while others chose not to join the Ontario Public Service.

“We would like to thank the Water Department for the work and commitment to service they provided to the town and wish the individuals the best in their future endeavours,” said Spina.

On April 24, council voted to enter negotiations with OCWA, based on a bid that promised savings of more than $200,000 in a five-year deal. This will allow more money to be saved for water infrastructure improvements and offset the need for water rate increases.

 “There is tremendous savings in this, and we will be looking to them for advice on wastewater,” said Mayor Al Alls. “They were extremely pleased with the system, that it was well-run.”

Sections of the local systems are antiquated, prone to freeze-ups and leakage, and have been in need of replacement for some time. The town is searching for new well sites to meet provincial requirements for redundancy, and to support new residential and business growth.

OCWA operates water and wastewater systems for more than 180 clients. They will now share liability with the town for any problems with the water systems.

The agreement was signed by the CAO and mayor. The final contract had not been signed last week, presented to council or made available to the public. Alls expects that to happen soon.

Customers can continue to call 519-830-8600 for any after-hours drinking water emergencies. For water billing and water meter support during regular hours of operation, call Town Hall at 519-855-4407 ext. 221. 

Water decision deserved public discussion

Erin town councillors could have shown some courtesy by at least pretending to have a public discussion about getting rid of the water department.

Instead, after a lengthy closed session on April 24 and a brief public slide show by a consultant, they voted 3-2 to negotiate a contract with the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) to take over water operations.

One of the most important decisions in the town’s history was taken without public notice, and without a public discussion of the strategy by councillors or staff.

With OCWA promising to save urban ratepayers $200,000 a year, it could be an excellent decision. It comes with risks, however, and with many ancient water pipes to replace and more wells needed, the savings could be a drop in the bucket. 

Normally, councillors and the public get a chance to consider major proposals well in advance. In this case, the matter was a single line on the agenda. The town had commissioned an independent cost-benefit analysis, comparing the existing operations to two outside bids.

Normally a consultant’s presentation is printed in the agenda, so people have at least two days to think and react. In this case there was nothing.

Normally there is a staff report analyzing the pros and cons – something that had been promised on this issue – but again there was nothing. The explanation from communications officer Jessica Spina is that a recommendation from CAO Nathan Hyde would “eliminate the objectivity” of the consultant’s report.

Water superintendent Joe Babin was not allowed to speak during or after the meeting. Maybe he has some advice for council that the public should hear.

A complex matter like outsourcing water requires discussion. When did that discussion take place? Council never saw the request for proposals that went out in February.

A section of the April 24 meeting was legitimately closed to the public for matters of labour relations, employee negotiations or litigation. Other possible exemptions for confidential information and outside negotiations were not claimed. The Municipal Act limits discussion to specified topics.

Spina said that in closed session, the consultant “provided an objective view regarding the water department’s operation”, with an “overview of the department’s financial records which included proprietary information”, and that questions were asked about the analysis “as it pertains to staffing and department finances”. 

Any new strategy might be construed as impacting labour relations. There will be grey areas, but it would be advisable (though perhaps not convenient) to deal with sensitive personnel and negotiation issues in closed session, while discussing others in public.

These would include the concept of outsourcing, water quality monitoring, response to emergencies, criteria for extra costs, dispute resolution, performance in other municipalities and the option to have OCWA manage future wastewater.

In 2016, closed meeting investigator John Maddox urged Erin to keep meetings open to the public whenever possible.

“If in doubt, you should probably err on the side of caution and stay open,” he said. Councillors must limit discussion to the announced reason for the closed session, and not “wander off-topic”.

Some councillors were clearly uncomfortable when they returned from the recent closed session, having been warned not to reveal details. Councillors Jeff Duncan and John Brennan voted against starting OCWA negotiations, with concern that the mayor and CAO would be authorized to sign the contract without council seeing it.

Coun. Matt Sammut, a vocal critic of water costs, voted Yes, but had concerns about “impacting a number of lives”. He had second thoughts about his vote, but could not change it. He said if negotiators see “holes” in the deal, it should still come back to council. Mayor Al Alls told councillors to forward concerns privately to the negotiating team.

The mayor and CAO may have got their way, but at what cost? Considering that they recently promised to improve communications with the public, the meeting was still a disaster.

Erin to outsource water operations

After years of concern about the cost of running the Erin water department, town council has finally pulled the plug – deciding to contract the job to an outside agency.

The town expects to save over $200,000 per year in a five-year deal with the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA), a crown corporation that operates water and wastewater systems for more than 180 clients.

Council voted 3-2 at a special meeting April 24 to begin negotiations with OCWA. They delegated full authority to Mayor Allan Alls and CAO Nathan Hyde to sign a contract without bringing it back to council. 

Councillors John Brennan and Jeff Duncan voted against the motion. They both support contracting out, but said they wanted more information.

“Negotiations will involve a dialogue about the possibility of the Town’s water department staff transitioning into new positions,” said Communications Officer Jessica Spina. “It is anticipated that OCWA will begin operating the town’s water system by August 1st of this year.”

The town will retain ownership of the system, and hopes to use the savings to reduce future water rate increases. More money will go into reserves needed for replacing antiquated parts of the system.

In February, CAO Nathan Hyde issued a Request for Proposal, and received two bids. Town council was not involved in the process, which included hiring an independent consultant, Public Sector Digest (PSD), to compare the bids to the existing costs of running the water department (about $1 million annually).

In closed session, PSD provided council with analysis, and then gave the public an abridged version. Measured in 2018 dollars with inflation at 2 per cent, a bid from H2O Systems would save the town $347,723 over 5.5 years. The OCWA bid would save $1,112,839.

Coun. Matt Sammut asked, “Do you feel a good analysis has been done from a qualitative perspective.” Tyler Sutton and Saramad Mahbouba of PSD said their only reference was the executive summaries of the bidders themselves, who each claimed to have an excellent record of service delivery. The bids were not made public.

“The Town of Erin can expect to benefit from economies of scale and accumulated experience,” the PSD report said. The town is expecting strong technical support, reducing the need for other consultants. 

The mayor said OCWA can do the job with fewer hours and less overtime, since staff service more than one client, and that OCWA will share liability for the system.

OCWA manages 75 per cent of Ontario’s outsourced water treatment facilities, serving 4.5 million people. The agency has already made a pitch to manage Erin’s future sewer system.

Guelph-Eramosa Township used to have OCWA managing Rockwood’s water and wastewater systems, but cancelled the contract 10 years ago, citing unpredictable extra costs. Alls said he has heard positive feedback from other municipalities.

Councillors were warned not to discuss the water service bids in public, because of staff privacy and to avoid harming the town’s negotiating position. Water Superintendent Joe Babin was also barred from speaking.

“The devil is in the details – we would be derelict if we didn’t investigate further, but there are a lot of things to be fleshed out,” said Brennan. “The responsibility regarding quality is on the shoulders of council.”

Mayor Al Alls said councillors should forward any concerns privately to the negotiating team.

Duncan said the decision was “hasty”. He said bringing a tentative deal back to council in closed session would be a normal negotiation process, but the CAO said it would be unfair to OCWA and the negotiating team to have to start the process over again.

Extra $604,000 for Town of Erin well drilling

The search for new municipal water just got a lot more expensive, with Erin town council allocating up to $604,000 for at least two more wells.

Exploratory drilling and testing at two sites, as part of the Water Servicing Environmental Assessment (EA), has been a disappointment for the town. Sufficient water flow was not found at the existing Hillsburgh fire hall well or the Mountainview site on Kenneth Ave.

The search will now be expanded, with four potential sites in Hillsburgh and four in Erin village, most owned by developers. All the sites are in the Credit River watershed, (while the existing Nestlé well is in the Grand River watershed).

When the Water EA (separate from the Wastewater EA) was started in 2015, it was based on the projection that the urban population would grow from 4,500 to 6,000. That would have required one new well in Hillsburgh and one or two for Erin village.

With a new projection of 14,599 urban residents within about 25 years, Hillsburgh will eventually need two more wells and Erin village up to five more, according to a report by town engineer Christine Furlong of Triton Engineering.

 “It’s almost like a Catch-22 – if we don’t go ahead with the sewage treatment, we don’t get the population that needs the water,” said Coun. John Brennan, asking if the drilling can be done in phases. “$604,000 is a big pill to swallow.”

 “I hate spending money on the flip of a coin,” said Coun. Matt Sammut, while Mayor Allan Alls said, “This is something we have to do.” All members voted in favour.

The allocation of funds approved on April 3 will not directly affect water rates, since the money will be taken from the Water Life Cycle Reserve and the Water Development Charges account.

The town originally allocated $404,580 to the Water EA, and $215,496 remains unspent. Those funds will be used prior to the $604,000.

Furlong estimated that 90 per cent of the well costs could be recovered through targeted development charges, without reducing other development revenue.

She said the work would proceed in stages, each to be approved by town staff.  Once preliminary drilling confirms adequate water flow, development of the well to production status could be done later. 

A single well can cost over $300,000 because of requirements for extensive water testing, an archaeological investigation, a cultural heritage evaluation and a natural environment inventory and assessment.

One less well would be needed if the two village systems were connected, an option that is under study. Furlong also reminded council that more wells are needed for the existing water system, even if there were to be no growth.

Erin currently operates its water system with two wells in Hillsburgh and two in Erin village. The province requires the town to develop an additional well for each community to provide redundancy (back-up) in case of failure or contamination at an existing well.

Hydrogeologist Andrew Pentney of Groundwater Science Corp. (who has taken over from Ray Blackport) told council that the amount of money being spent on the water search is typical of that spent by other municipalities.

He said it is “not uncommon” to find insufficient water flow at a specific test site, but expressed confidence that the problem is not lack of groundwater in the area.

“The water is out there,” he said.

Mayor issues wastewater warning

Mayor Al Alls is predicting dire consequences if the Erin community fails to deal with the need for sewage treatment.

In an open letter to residents, he said inaction would bring “unfathomable” risks.

“One of the most important moments in the history of our Town is currently before us,” he said. “This council agreed to accept the challenge despite the hardships that came with it, to ensure a bright future for Erin.”

He wrote an open letter in January on the same theme, but his current comments come after much criticism of proposals in the Wastewater Environmental Assessment at a recent public meeting.

“Erin is a great place to live – however presently, only for a select few,” he said. “Those residents who built our town have been forced to move Guelph, Georgetown or Orangeville when they age because of a lack of Senior’s facilities.

“The children and grandchildren of those residents are also forced to leave our borders due to a lack of affordable housing options. To create a prosperous and wholesome community that works for all ages, we need to address this deficiency.”

He said sewers are needed to stop “massive” pollution of the environment by septic systems, to allow for a greater variety of residential development, to enable business growth (which would offset residential taxes) and to ensure that schools do not close due to lack of enrolment.

He said developers will pay half the cost of the $118 million system, and tens of millions of dollars will be needed from senior governments to make the project possible.

“The costs may be high, but the cost of doing nothing is greater,” he said.

The full text of the mayor’s message can be read in the Opinion section at erinadvocate.com.

Town looks at contracting out water services

Erin is inviting companies to submit proposals to take over operation of the town’s drinking water systems, even though town council has not made a decision to proceed with such a change.

“This will answer once and for all – do we do it the most economical way?” said Mayor Al Alls. “I thought it was a good idea.”

CAO Nathan Hyde took the initiative in consultation with the mayor, but did not bring the matter before town council. There is no cost to the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and no commitment to actually contract out the functions of the water department.

Bidders must submit proposals by Feb. 28, with a full public report to be provided for town council in April. If council accepts a proposal, the transition could start immediately.

 “It is an opportunity for council to review all options for operating the water systems in an efficient and effective manner, so that rate payers are satisfied that they are getting value for the services being provided,” says an information sheet published with the RFP at erin.ca.

“Council and the public have previously raised questions relating to the cost of water services, and it is staff’s job to ensure that we are delivering these services at an optimum price, while planning for future infrastructure replacement costs.”

The RFP will help the town decide whether to keep the water system in-house or negotiate an external partnership. The water infrastructure would continue to be publicly owned.

The mayor said that an external provider could potentially be involved in providing or securing funding for water infrastructure, and could be considered for management of the wastewater system once it is built.

 “Cost is an important factor in this competition but it will not be the sole determining factor,” says the RFP.

In 2015, council set the water rate at $3.99 per cubic metre, for a five-year period. This was a reduction from the previous rate of $4.29, but it is still considered high, the result of five earlier years of 20 per cent annual increases (2009-2013).

The Town of Erin has four main wells, 33 km of watermain, 194 fire hydrants and 1,300 services, plus a water tower and other reservoirs. There are two main drinking water systems serving Erin village and part of Hillsburgh, plus small systems for the Municipal Office, Ballinafad Hall, Barbour Field and the Hillsburgh Fire Hall.

An outside company would have to provide 24/7 operational coverage, including full compliance with government regulations, emergency response, water meter and valve inspections, and all equipment repairs and maintenance. The RFP proposes a five-year contract. The company would become the project manager for capital projects.

Information from the 2018 budget process shows the annual operating expenditures of the water department at $1.5 million, with capital projects this year expected to cost $123,000. Reserves total about $2.2 million, intended for upkeep of the system. The department is funded by the actual water users in Hillsburgh and Erin village.

The town is currently conducting an Environmental Assessment, attempting to find suitable locations for new wells that would back up existing sources and provide support for new growth.

Skeptical crowd reviews wastewater plan

Many Erin residents are not convinced that a wastewater system costing $118 million is the best course of action for the town, and they vented their doubts loudly at a public meeting on Feb. 2.

There was a presentation by Ainley Group, the consultants hired to complete the final phases of an Environmental Assessment (EA). The current plan estimates a cost of $50-$60 million to service the existing 4,500 residents in Hillsburgh and Erin village. The balance would be paid by developers as the urban population increases by about 10,000 over 20-30 years.

Limits on the town’s debt capacity mean the project would only be feasible with substantial senior government funding. One resident noted that if the town uses up most of its debt capacity for wastewater, it would not be available to support other important infrastructure projects.

Another received applause after suggesting there be a referendum on whether to proceed with sewers. Several also expressed doubt about the chances of the project being completed on budget.

Some residents are satisfied with the current set-up of private septic systems, saying that problems with aging systems do not constitute an emergency.

“Why should we be excited about spending all this money when we’ve got what we need in our back yard?” said one speaker. “Just leave us alone.”

Another said many people moved to Erin for the low housing density, and that a sewer system would allow developers such as Solmar to “get rich” building denser neighbourhoods.

“We’re going to spend 50 to 60 million so Solmar can build houses and destroy our community?” he said.

One resident reminded the crowd that the reason residential tax bills are so high is the lack of a substantial commercial and industrial tax base. Wastewater service could help correct that imbalance.

Some were concerned about impact on the West Credit River, but were told that the effluent would be treated to such a high level that the discharge would be well within Ministry of the Environment limits. No storm water will be allowed in the sanitary sewers, eliminating the possibility of waste bypassing the treatment plant during a storm.

Ainley President Joe Mullan said the preferred option of a traditional gravity sewer system would provide the “lowest operating cost in the long term”.

He said if the projected cost per household of $20,000-$25,000 (based on full build-out) is offset by two-thirds grant funding, homeowners would pay $6,700-$8,300. This could be spread over many years as a low-interest loan.

In addition, they would have to pay for the connection from their houses to the road, now estimated at an average of $6,000. Hook-up would be mandatory in serviced areas, though it could be delayed.

There would also be ongoing wastewater bills, similar to water bills, averaging $400-$500 annually. Mullan noted that provision of sewers normally causes property values to rise.

Full details of the Ainley presentation can be downloaded from the wastewater section of the town website, erin.ca.

Mayor Al Alls had previously voiced his personal opinion that all taxpayers, including rural residents who would never hook up to sewage treatment, should pay a share of system construction. They are already helping pay for the EA process. In a recent interview, however, Alls conceded that urban residents would pay construction costs (offset by government grants and developers’ contributions).

He reminded residents that all members of the current town council were elected in 2014 after promising to support moderate growth, with wastewater as a key element. The next municipal election is Oct. 22 this year.

“We need sewage capacity,” he said. “The status quo can only lead to further decline.”

He read an appeal from public school trustee Kathryn Cooper, who urged residents to support wastewater service as a means of increasing the number of families with school-age children. A meeting about declining enrolment and potential school closures will be held Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Erin Public School gym.

The EA remains in a public consultation stage, and comments are invited before the end of February. After that, Ainley will work with the town and the Public Liaison Committee to prepare an Environmental Study Report, which will be subject to an official 30-day public review period.

If accepted by council, the EA could be complete by late spring, though the results could be appealed to the Minister of the Environment with “Part II Order” requests. The completed EA is needed to apply for federal and provincial funding.

Comments can be sent to Project Coordinator Christine Furlong of Triton Engineering, cfurlong@triton.on.ca; or to Ainley President Joe Mullan, erin.urban.classea@ainleygroup.com.

Station Street project gets green light

The Town of Erin has received approval to reconstruct the Station Street bridge, rehabilitate the dam and preserve the Hillsburgh millpond.

Chris Ballard, Ontario Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, announced the decision on Feb. 2, more than a year after the project was put on hold. Credit Valley Conservation and several residents had appealed the results of an Environmental Assessment, claiming the town followed a “flawed process”.

Wellington County owns the water control structure in the 

Hillsburgh millpond dam, while the Town of Erin owns the 

earthen berm that supports Station Street.

The minister dismissed all of the objections, but did order the town to monitor and mitigate the impact on local groundwater and wildlife. The town must ensure the bridge can withstand a major regional storm and make contingency plans for extreme weather events.

 “I am pleased that the minister agreed with the town’s position,” said Mayor Al Alls. “This structure is important to the successful movement of people. The added benefit of the province allowing the pond to stay is that we will continue to maintain an important cultural amenity that is a landmark of our community.”

Gooderham and Worts built the dam that created the Hillsburgh 

millpond in the early 1850s, with a new mill that shipped 

grain to what is now Toronto’s Distillery District. 

The Station Street bridge was built in 1917.

The $2.5 million project will now proceed, but will not be complete before the early summer opening of the new Hillsburgh Library next to the pond. Draining the pond would have cost an extra $700,000.

Credit Valley Conservation had wanted full consideration of decommissioning the dam and possibly creating a smaller “off-line” pond next to the river, to improve fish habitat. The town said it could not consider those options since Wellington County owns the pond and is committed to preserving it.

The minister said the town had “no obligation to carry forward alternatives that are not reasonable, practical or implementable”.

The 101-year-old bridge was first identified in 1971 as being in need of replacement. The road on the dam was closed in 2011 after a section subsided due to a failing outlet pipe. Temporary work was done in 2012 to make the road safe for traffic, and steel reinforcements installed to protect the earthen berm that holds back the water.