CENTRE WELLINGTON – It could cost up to nearly $200 million to fund water and wastewater upgrades in Centre Wellington up to the year 2051.
With two options before them as far as addressing a costly update to the Water and Wastewater Servicing Master Plan, staff recommend maintaining the status quo.
The models were presented in a detailed report by Township Engineer Adam Gilmore in conjunction with project consultant John Tyrell at a council meeting Monday night.
The recommendation before council ultimately received for information was to maintain a Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS) facility, as opposed to switching to a newer technology called a Membrane Bio-Reactor facility.
Tyrell told council there’s nothing set in stone if council chooses to go the CAS route, as they will be guided further by staff when implementing the master plan down the road.
In a chart breaking down pro’s and con’s of each option, it is about $2 million cheaper to stick with the CAS model. There were also some “throw-away costs” referenced in a possible switch.
Gilmore says grant money could be a stream of funding staff could utilize.
When the time comes, staff say they plan to “advance studies and investigate opportunities.”
Mayor Shawn Watters, faced with the significant price tag, was sure to remind council how much infrastructure this dollar value represents.
Also a part of the report was a recommendation to phase in disconnections of residents’ drainage systems and updates to a more modern model. Gilmore says it could be possible to incentivize this voluntary program by viewing it as a grant program.
For more on this project, find the full report, here.
