The mayors of Collingwood and New Tecumseth signed a formal agreement between their two municipalities to ensure a continued supply of treated drinking water keeps flowing.
Both municipalities have been negotiating the agreement for two years, and both councils approved the deal on Aug. 18.
Collingwood has been sending water to New Tecumseth for 22 years.
In the late 1990s, the Town of New Tecumseth approached Collingwood to ask for help with water supply to support a Honda production plant in Alliston. A pipeline from Collingwood to Alliston was built along the existing rail line that ran between the two municipalities to deliver treated water.
The first agreement between the two municipalities was made in June 1999 and it expired in June 2020. Since then, the two municipalities have been negotiating the latest deal, which includes sharing the cost of the estimated $120-million water treatment plant expansion. New Tecumseth's share is around 60 per cent of the cost of the treatment plant expansion, and Collingwood's share is 37 per cent.
Today's signed agreement will be in effect for 10 years with options to extend every 10 years.
Collingwood has been providing 6,000 cubic metres of water per day to New Tecumseth since 2008, and that won’t change under the agreement until the new water treatment plant comes online and capacity is expanded.
New Tecumseth will be purchasing Collingwood's 18.5 per cent interest in the pipeline for $6.5 million, but Collingwood will retain ownership of the pipeline that is within town boundaries.
For more information on the agreement details, click here.
