ERIN — The town is considering several new water infrastructure upgrades to accommodate future planned developments.
Presenting a report to Erin council at a meeting Thursday afternoon, consultant engineers from Ainley Group have recommended the town proceed with several water infrastructure upgrades including a new well in Erin, a water storage reservoir in Hillsburgh and a water booster station in Erin to help pump water from Erin to Hillsburgh.
It also recommends the township move forward with a well drilling and exploration program to find additional water capacity for another new well in Erin and two in Hillsburgh.
This follows a Water Servicing Class Environmental Assessment from Triton Engineering in 2020 that recommended new water infrastructure in Erin and Hillsburgh including new wells and water towers in Erin and Hillsburgh and interconnecting Erin and Hillsburgh's water systems via a new watermain along the Elora Cataract Trail.
Ainley Group said the infrastructure is anticipated to cost $65,100,000 and will be funded through future water development charges.
"So anyone pulling a new building permit any of these new developments would be paying their little component of that," said Ainley Group at the meeting. "This would not be an increase on existing water users and/or the existing tax base, this would just be funded through future development."
According to Ainley Group, the new Erin well is planned for Wellington Road 23 with a new 1.4 km watermain to run towards Sideroad 17 and tie in with Pioneer Drive and Shamrock Road.
Timelines for the new Erin well are anticipated to proceed throughout 2025 while construction of the new reservoir and booster station is tentatively scheduled from Fall 2025 to Fall 2026.
Four potential locations have been identified for the reservoir within the future Barbour Field area and in and around the Hillsburgh Heights (Briarwood) Development on Trafalgar Road.
Four properties have also been identified for the booster station, including two on Sideroad 17.
There are also three areas identified for test well drilling in Erin and Hillsburgh along Sideroad 27, Tenth Line and Sideroad 10. Once locations are finalised, staff anticipates proceeding with municipal well approval and implementation throughout 2026 and 2027.
"Well E9 in Erin needs to be brought online as soon as possible, to support the ongoing new development in Erin," said Ainley Group, in their presentation.
When asked what the impact on traffic or road closures will be, Ainley Group said outside of the new watermain planned for Wellington Road 23, they don't envisage any road closures.
Mayor Michael Dehn elaborated to say he imagines there might be some full road closures when there are open cuts across the roads.
"There might be some temporary as your day-to-day type thing but no road closures...each of these might have some localized impacts but I would not foresee mega major road closures," said Ainley Group.
Councillor Jamie Cheyne asked whether the town has considered purchasing Blue Triton's well on Sideroad 24 now that they're leaving Ontario as opposed to one of the other suggested sites.
Ainley Group said there will be ongoing discussions with Blue Triton.
Dehn was also curious how connecting the Erin and Hillsburgh waterline would impact public safety considering the two past boil water advisories between both systems over the last two years.
"Having the two systems separate I think gives residents an extra level of comfort that if one system's down, the other on theoretically is safe," said Dehn. "But once you hook the two up, who gets there quick enough to shut the valve off to stop the flow from one system to another."
Ainley Group said while that is the disadvantage of connecting the two systems together, there is also a "number of benefits."
"There are some pros and cons. It is more common to get larger systems together, it gives you that redundancy, particularly in supply and that's a key thing," said Ainley Group. "If you ever had some issues in one community, with this connectivity you could then through your staff and whoever your operator is take one well offline and still provide it from the other system."
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
