MAPLETON – Council here is considering a plan that would see the township spend almost $14 million on water and wastewater infrastructure over the next five years.
CIMA+ consulting engineers Tom Montgomery and Kelly Frensch outlined the plan at the Sept. 22 council meeting.
In a motion approved on Aug. 11, council directed staff to “begin where we left off” and work directly with CIMA+, the township’s previous consulting engineers, to address water and wastewater needs in Drayton and Moorefield.
That decision came after a proposal that would have seen the township outsource construction and operation of municipal water and wastewater infrastructure was abandoned at a special meeting of council on July 30.
At that time council agreed instead to look at borrowing against its own reserves to finance the project.
An internal financial analysis indicated self-financing was more advantageous to the township than proceeding with the RFP process launched in 2019.
Since April 2019 the township has spend $367,000 for legal services related to the RFP.
At the Sept. 22 meeting the engineers proposed council prioritize water and wastewater infrastructure projects between now and 2025 in the following order:
- $4 million for an elevated water tank for Drayton;
- $3.5 million for a new Drayton sewage pumping station;
- $2 million to increase well supply capacity; and
- $4 million for improvements to the nitrification process and for upgrading capacity (to 1,300 cubic metres per day) at the Mapleton Water Pollution Control Plan.
Studies on the asset condition, a financial plan and a master water and wastewater plan are expected to add about $260,000 to the cost.
The consultants explained the upgrades are needed to meet growth projections that would see Drayton’s population increase from just over 2,500 today to nearly 4,000 by 2041, and Moorefield grow from around 600 to almost 2,000 over the same period.
Montgomery noted that in a master plan “you’d be looking at the communities where you have service.”
However, he noted the master plan would not be a detailed study but an overview at “higher level” and could also “look at Alma for the future.”
“I’m very happy to see number one (priority) being the Drayton elevated tank ,” said Mayor Gregg Davidson, noting the pressure boost a tower would bring is needed for firefighting.
Davidson said it is important that work begin quickly to “get some of those projects going.”
“This community has been waiting a long time,” he added.
Council accepted the CIMA+ report as information and directed township staff to prepare a report on next steps in the process.
