Wallaceburg residents will continue to get their water from the Snye River after the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission approved a plan to upgrade the current water treatment plant.
Chatham-Kent PUC administration presented the recommendation to the PUC board on Wednesday, which was given final approval.
PUC General Manager Tim Sunderland says the decision was very well received by the commission, and work on the water treatment plant will begin sometime next year.
"We have to complete the environmental assessment, once the environmental assessment is completed, then we can look at the work needed over the next ten years," he says.
Sunderland says the rehabilitation of the water treatment plant will cost around $6.4-million over a ten-year period, with $3.4-million being paid in the first year. He says the rehabilitation project will be funded through the PUC's life cycle dollars and will not result in a rate increase for local residents.
The preferred solution to continue drawing water from the Snye River, rather than sourcing Wallaceburg’s water from Lake Erie like the majority of Chatham-Kent, was determined by an evaluation committee.
The preferred solution was presented to the public on February 18 during a public meeting, and was met favourably by Wallaceburg residents.
"Whatever the outcome was, was the one the PUC administration was going to support and bring back to the commission for a recommendation," says Sunderland. "The outcome that came was a community accepted one, so the community is happy for that."
