A pretty important meeting is coming up Thursday regarding the planned upgrades for the wastewater treatment facility in Mount Brydges which is now being estimated to come with a price tag around $8.5 million. The 10-year facility needs upgrades and the sooner the better to avoid any stopping to the area’s residential development. Director of Engineering and Public Works Jake Strauss, has said transporting wastewater out of the facility to Strathroy would cost about $5,000 a day, or $1.8 million per year of unbudgeted money. It would take two years at least if a new facility was to be constructed from scratch, and 3-5 years to be operational according to Strauss’ report. Upgrades to the facility were approved during the last council term, and the meeting this week is set for Thursday at 4pm.
RV Anderson Consulting engineering David Evans said at the meeting, that there is too much discharging ammonia and it is damaging the environment, in addition to more temporary trucking out of the facility due to more breakdowns.
Evans guessed that approval from the MECP wouldn’t be for a while the tendering step not until the winter of next year. The building itself would come with a price tag of $2.4 million, with $1.2 million for equipment, $3.7 million towards the new headworks buildings, a new holding tank along with a digester to minimize taking leftover sludge to London would cost $3.3 million, and bringing into consideration, things like generators, aeration tanks, and other upgrades would set the new total to $8.5 million.