While it appears Guelph-Eramosa council has decided on an above ground sewage storage tank in Rockwood, the exact location of the $3.5-million structure is still unclear.
Following a closed meeting on Monday night Mayor Chris White said the township is going to try one last time to negotiate the purchase of property to house the new tank, which is required to address a deficiency in the underground pipe that carries sewage from the Rockwood pre-treatment facility on Alma Street to the Guelph facility about eight kilometres away.
White said council is “pretty much set” on an above-ground tank. He added that “because of the cost [an underground tank] is off the table.”
While an above ground tank will cost about $3.5 million, an underground tank would have cost over $5 million.
The next priority is trying to conceal the tank as well as possible, the mayor told the Advertiser.
“It’s the first thing you’re going to see when you come in to the town (from the west),” White said of the tank, which is expected to be 40 feet tall.
With both cost and visual impact in mind, councillors had previously favoured building an above-ground tank on a piece of property immediately west of the current site.
But engineer John Burns, of township consultant R.J. Burnside and Associates, told council on Aug. 12 the owner of that land is not interested in selling the property.
Councillor Corey Woods wondered aloud if the landowner could be convinced to sell at a price above market value, but White said that discussion should take place in closed session.
White could not clarify if the township’s “one last stab” at property acquisition was with the same landowner.
“We’re still looking at purchasing a piece of property,” White said.
He added if the township is unsuccessful, it will proceed with a an above ground tank on the current site of the treatment plant.
Referring to the tank’s purpose as back-up storage that will be used only when the system reaches peak flows, councillor Doug Breen said the price tag is very high “for a tank that’s going to be empty all but once in every five years.”
However, Breen agreed with the rest of council that the tank was a necessity.
