Mount Brydges Wastewater Treatment Facility Discussed at Special Council Meeting

A pretty important meeting happened Thursday last week about the current situation with the Mount Brydges Wastewater Treatment facility, next steps and the planned upgrades for the facility which is being estimated to come with a price tag around $8.5 million. The 10-year facility needs upgrades and Strathroy-Caradoc Mayor Colin Grantham says the meeting was positive, and for information not just to inform council but also the public as to where the situation is at, why it’s where it is and what’s happening moving forward.

The Mayor says it hasn’t been an issue of capacity, it’s been the breakage of the plant.

Grantham says they are moving forward and the public feedback was appreciated.

Grantham says this is an upgrade to the facility along with some additional items that should have been part of the original system. He added, the public always has a right to be concerned. The past council put plans in place to make sure that any future upgrades or expansion of the facility would be fully funded, so this council has the ability now to use these funds. Hdere is more from the Mayor from a post on his Facebook page.

January 14th

Post from Mayor Grantham’s Facebook Page

Mount Brydges Wastewater Treatment Plant

This week there was a special meeting of Council to discuss the situation with the Mount Brydges Waste Water Treatment plant. Like a lot of you, I had many questions and did not fully understand the issue. After asking questions of staff, reading all of the reports, watching the presentations and doing my own research, I am confident that we are headed in the right direction. There are three facts that are key – the current system is problematic, Mount Brydges MUST have a reliable sewage system ( both for current users and to accommodate future growth ), and we have a responsibility to ensure we are good stewards of the environment.

Unsaid, is that Council needs to ensure that your money is spent wisely. The decision made by previous Council to upgrade the current system, which this Council supports checks all of those boxes. Before I go any further, there are questions regarding the consulting firm, RV Anderson, and their role. They are a consulting firm who help us decide which system is best suited for us. They do not sell nor install treatment plants. When the time comes to spend $$ it will be a public tender process.

You will be able to see the tenders.

As part of my own decision making process It was important for me to see a costing of both “types” of treatment plants. They did so.

Here is what you should know about the cost:

It would cost more, $1,000,000 to stay with the current system, and it would still have some of the same challenges. Common to both options is $4.25 million for a “headworks” system that acts a screen before the actual treatment. Think of alll of the items that get flushed down the toilet that shouldn’t be. That is currently going into our tanks. Our consultants can not think of another system that doesn’t include a headworks. This is not a nice to have – it is a must.

So, in the end we were debating over replacing the guts of the treatment system. The plant is not being scrapped or replaced, the tanks stay as they are – it’s just how the waste is being treated that is being changed.

In the end, switching systems costs less, is more robust and ensures the long term viability of the Mount Brydges Treatment Plant. I know more now that I ever thought I would about waste treatment but after gathering all of the information I am certain the right decision was made. One final note, I know there are questions about the history of the plant and how we ended up here. To me, and speaking only for myself, worrying about the past is, in most cases, doesn’t help with decision making . To me what is important is where are we at today and how are going to move forward. Let’s move forward knowing that Mount Brydges is going to have a working treatment plant.

Colin

PS – if you watch the video of the meeting the presentation containing costs is in that video. I will see if I can post it separately.