Collingwood selects designers for water plant expansion
The Town of Collingwood has chosen a partnership of AECOM and Ainley & Associates to design the expansion of the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant (WTP).
Construction of the project cannot come soon enough. With the plant nearing capacity, the town put a temporary ban on new development earlier this year. The ban will remain in place until such time as the plant can be expanded to accommodate growth. The town does have water capacity available to handle those homes and businesses already planned for construction through 2025, but not beyond what is already planned.
“We’ve recently confirmed that the demand for drinking water is greater than the supply,” said Collingwood’s Chief Administrative Officer Sonya Skinner at an April council meeting. “Some of the questions that have been brought forward, and rightfully, is why didn’t we know this sooner.”
The rated daily capacity of the Collingwood WTP is 31,140 m3 for drinking water. That capacity is not available in the winter months, however.
The planned expansion would take the plant to a capacity of 51,871 m3 per day. The addition of a new chlorine tank would allow the plant to operate at its full rate capacity under all temperature and raw water conditions “while providing the required disinfection by chlorination without increasing the potential for taste and odour concerns by customers.”
In addition to expanding the plant’s capacity and rehabilitating aged infrastructure, the city hopes the project will create a building and shoreline design that the town can showcase for locals and visitors to enjoy, and that integrates into the surrounding area. It is giving special consideration to line-of-sight preservation, noise and air quality control, representation of First Nations, water education, and the potential impacts on climate change.
Collingwood expects to put out a request for construction bids in the spring of 2023, with a targeted completion date of the end of 2025 or early 2026. The project is expected to cost as much as $60 million.
Complementing its plans to expand the plant, the town is also looking at other options to increase plant output, including increasing chlorine dosage and installing UV filters.
Featured image: Proposed design of the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant. (Town of Collingwood)