An estimated $21 million plan to upgrade the regional water system in Cambridge and North Dumfries has reached the public review phase following the completion of a Class B Environmental Assessment.
Regional councillors were presented with a summary of the project at their committee of the whole meeting Tuesday.
Upgrades set to be completed between now and 2028 include construction of a new water tower on Cedar Creek Road, west of Cambridge, well house upgrades to supply water from two wells in Blair, improvements at the St. Andrews pumping station and tank site, decommissioning of the Inverness Water Tower, located between Grand Ridge and Dalkeith drives in south Cambridge, and various watermain upgrades.
The report says the upgrades support the “environment and climate action focus area” in the region’s Strategic Plan by protecting water sources, increasing the efficiency, reliability and flexibility of the water system, supporting the optimization of the overall Cambridge water system, and helping to meet future water system needs.
Several stakeholders and local residents were consulted for the report, starting in 2017. They included the city and township, the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks, the Cambridge Environmental Advisory Committee, and Indigenous communities (Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and Six Nations of the Grand River).
Three public information centres were also held to gather feedback that included comments related to protecting the environment, avoiding impacts to local businesses and future development, and minimizing visual impacts.
The Region’s 2021 Ten Year Capital Program includes approximately $21 million for the project, spread out between 2021 and 2028 for design and construction. More detailed cost estimates will be developed through the detailed designs of the projects, says the report.
Detailed design for the preferred solution is scheduled to begin in 2022.
The full report will be available on the region’s website for 30-day public review starting June 15, once a notice of completion is issued.
