The consultants and engineers designing the plans for expanding Collingwood’s water treatment plant have been selected.
AECOM and Ainley and Associates Limited have been hired for the task and will be working on a solution to get the existing plant to produce more drinking water before the expansion gets underway.
The expansion comes with added pressure as the plant is nearing its capacity. As a result, the town has put a temporary ban on new development in place.
While the town does have some available water capacity for new homes and units, it does not have enough to accommodate the expected growth in town between now and 2025, when the expansion is estimated to be complete.
Both AECOM and Ainley and Associates Limited worked with the town on class environmental assessment and conceptual design for the plant expansion, which were complete in 2020.
The engineering team will be designing the expansion and rehabilitation plans, which will include a shoreline design for the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant.
You can read the town’s announcement online here.
The town expects to put out a request for construction bids in the spring of 2023. The expansion should be complete by the end of 2025/ beginning of 2026 and it’s possible there will be an additional chlorine tank installed as early as 2023, but that has not been confirmed yet.
The expansion is expected to cost about $60 million, according to CAO Sonya Skinner.
In addition to the work toward plant expansion, the town is undertaking a third-party review of its chlorine dosing practices to find out if it can increase the chlorine dosing to produce more water capacity from the plant. Staff is also investigating the possible installation of UV filters to increase the water treatment plant output.
