Cost for Oakville water treatment plant rehabilitation and expansion has nearly doubled. Here’s why

By Fatima Raza, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TheIFP.ca

Millions of additional dollars will be needed for work at the Oakville Purification Plant.

At its Oct. 23 meeting, regional council voted in favour of recommendations from a staff report laying out the increased spending required for the plant, including more than doubling the budget for the low lift and filter structural rehabilitation to $12.26 million from $5.36 million.

As well, the plant’s expansion — which will allow production to grow to 130 megalitres per day from 109 — has grown to $14.2 million from $8.7 million.

“The project is a critical component of the more than $5.2 billion of water, wastewater and roads infrastructure required to support growth to 2031,” the report reads. “As such, the project is an appropriate candidate for funding of up to 73 per cent of the project costs under the province’s housing-enabling water systems fund.”

The report — submitted by Mark Connell, director of water and wastewater treatment, and Andrew Farr, commissioner of public works — explains that the Oakville Water Treatment Plant, built in 1955, is one of three plants in Halton that provides clean drinking water.

In 2011, Halton Region completed the Sustainable Halton Water and Wastewater Master Plan, which recommended that the facility capacity be increased to 130 megalitres per day to meet rising water demands by 2031.

Originally, the budget for this increase was approximately $20.8 million, but was later reduced to $10 million and then to $8.7 million based on updated cost estimates. In 2017, an assessment found some electrical and structural parts of the plant needed attention, leading to a separate budget of $5.36 million for repairs.

“As the expansion-related work affected the size and layout of the electrical equipment, both projects could not proceed individually and had to be combined into a single tender,” the report explains.

According to the report, combining the two projects caused a “delay to the state-of-good-repair work” as the process to secure the necessary regulatory permits for the expansion is lengthy.

The total budget for the combined project is now $14.06 million for the Oakville Water Treatment Plant project, with around $12 million set aside for construction.

The report lists several major scope items required to expand the production capacity of the facility to 130 megalitres per day, as well as to maintain the facility in a state-of-good repair and to support Halton Region’s net-zero targets, including the installation of a new high-lift pump with necessary electrical and mechanical components and a battery energy storage system for backup power during outages.

Additionally, the project will involve upgrading the electrical system, installing solar power, making structural repairs and upgrading the laboratory to ensure safe working conditions for staff.

For more information about the report and its recommendations, visit the Halton Region’s council website.