The Ontario Clean Water Agency is providing water services for the Town of Erin as of June 11 – two months ahead of schedule.
In a public notice issued on Monday, the town stated, “Negotiations between the town and OCWA have gone well, and we are able to expedite the transition of service provision, ahead of schedule.”
Council voted 3-2 in April to move forward with negotiations, which town officials say will save Erin about $1 million over five years. OCWA was expected to take over services in August.
The change in operations means a change for staff as well.
Three of the town’s five water department employees are no longer working for the town, including water superintendent Joe Babin. The two others have joined on with OCWA.
In the public notice, the town said, “We would like to thank the water department for the work and commitment to service they provided to the town and wish the individuals the best in their future endeavours.”
The switch to OCWA included “enhancements” such as technical support, asset management experience, increased contributions to the water cycle reserve, risk and liability sharing, economies of scale, energy management and grant application assistance, said town spokesperson Jessica Spina.
She said ratepayers “shouldn’t notice any difference in service.
“Our emergency after hours number is remaining the same, our regular hours number during the day is remaining the same,” she said.
“They really shouldn’t notice a difference in terms of any sort of service or any interruptions as they transition over.”
Spina added the town’s emergency guidelines and procedures would be also remain the same.
The OCWA contract is for 5.5 years at approximately $620,131 annually for 2019, pro-rated for 2018, with a 1.5% annual increase each year.
