ABERFOYLE – It appears there is an agreement that work needs to be done on the Mini Lakes community water and wastewater systems, but it’s not yet clear exactly what that will entail.
On Sept. 18, Puslinch councillors were provided updated information on the status of the water and waste water systems.
The Mini Lakes community has its own communal water and wastewater treatment systems which are owned by the Wellington Common Elements Condominium Corporation (Mini Lakes).
Correspondence from M.F. Property Management’s senior property manager Susan Heisler stated “in order to best supply a response, representatives from Mini Lakes and OCWA (Ontario Clean Water Agency) met with representatives from the township to discuss the current status of the Mini Lakes wastewater treatment system.”
At that meeting, a presentation was made on the progress that Mini Lakes and OCWA have made regarding the wastewater system’s performance, Heisler added.
She stated “due to the sporadic compliance issues in the wastewater treatment system, OCWA conducted a trade-off study to determine which options could be implemented to improve the system.”
These options included:
– connecting to Puslinch’s municipal sewage system;
– treatment system rehabilitation; and,
– treatment system upgrades (and various options for upgrades).
Subsequent recommendations included:
– upgrade the current system with specific components;
– flush and inspect the tile bed piping to improve absorption; and
– procure and install a backup generator.
Heisler said the board of directors has taken the recommendations outlined above from OCWA and is proceeding.
Councillor Jessica Goyda said, “I think it is really good news,” she added.
“It shows that Mini Lakes is taking the situation seriously, and that they have put some wheels in motion to evaluate their options to put a plan into place.”
Goyda thought it interesting one option was “to connect to the Puslinch municipal sewage system – which we do not have.”
Puslinch CAO Patrick Moyle said OCWA and the property management company “are aware of the issue and have not been sitting by … they have been actively searching for solutions.”
He said OCWA has made some technical suggestions to either repair or replace the entire system.
As to when the work could be done, Moyle said a procurement process is required to obtain the proper civil engineer.
“The goal is to have something started (and completed) in 2020.”
“The bottom line … is that they have taken the issue very seriously and they plan to repair or replace the system at their cost,” Moyle said.
Councillor Matthew Bulmer asked for clarification as to whether it was “repair” or “replace”.
Moyle said he believes the proponent is awaiting for the technical design component to be completed.
“Clearly they have established a healthy budget to do the work,” he said, adding there may be the potential of salvaging components of the existing system.
Moyle said “the main takeway from the meeting was that they are going to fix this to MOE requirements.”
Mayor James Seeley said, “Hopefully this work gets underway in 2020.”
