North Huron Council to consider new water tower

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

At a regular meeting on Monday, March 18, North Huron Council received a presentation from Jeff Paznar, Senior Vice-President of R.J. Burnside and Associates, in regards to potential plans for the replacement of Wingham’s standpipe. Paznar explained that Wingham’s current water storage system’s strength comes not from its aging standpipe, but from its wells.

 

There are two groundwater wells that supply drinking water to Wingham - one was constructed in 1973, the other in 1996. They have a combined capacity of 137 litres per second. Each one of these wells has a pump house where the water is treated, after which it is pumped through water mains. The standpipe itself serves primarily to regulate pressure in the system, rather than water storage.

 

Paznar pointed out that the existing standpipe was constructed in 1974, and its concrete tank is in poor condition, needing replacement. As Wingham continues to grow, so will its water needs.

 

He went on to offer a brief history of Wingham’s plans for replacing the aging piece of infrastructure. A Water and Wastewater Master Plan was completed by B.M. Ross in 2020, which recommended the existing standpipe be replaced, and a new booster pumping station be added. Burnside was retained to design said standpipe, and funding was sought. Paznar directed council’s attention towards a recently-announced provincial program geared towards funding water and wastewater projects that can facilitate an increase in housing. Paznar urged council to apply for this grant before its fast-approaching deadline, which is April 19. Two hundred million dollars have been allocated for water infrastructure developments that will serve new housing projects.
Paznar also advocated for the building of a water tower instead of a standpipe and booster station. “A lot of other municipalities that you drive by are constructing these water towers. They have a lot lower operating costs associated with them.” He explained that the standpipe/booster station set-up is inefficient and high risk, in comparison with a standpipe. Rather than the water being pumped up through the column of a standpipe, all the water is pumped up to the top of the tower and stored in an upper reservoir, until needed. Not needing to pump the water up during an emergency acts as a safety measure. “It presents far less risk to the municipality.” He also stated that these views are shared with water testing company Veolia, which also had a representative at the meeting to present a water report.

 

He pointed out that switching over to a water tower building plan would require a few additional steps, including finding a new site, likely within 15 metres of the site of the current standpipe, that would be approximately 50 metres squared for the tower. Potentially, there would also potentially need to be an environmental assessment of the project. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks recently made changes to the requirements for an assessment, which may mean it wouldn’t be necessary. Paznar strongly urged council to direct staff to take action on applying for the Housing Enabling Water System Fund.

 

Councillor Mitch Wright asked if switching from a standpipe to a water tower would take extra time, asking, “Is there any risk, in changing the path we’re on, it could affect our ability to qualify for the fund?” Paznar assured him that designing a water tower is “not that significant an effort.”

 

Councillor Chris Palmer asked if it would be prudent for a town to have a certain amount of water in reserve at any given time. Paznar cited the minimum storage requirements laid out by the Ministry. “The unique thing about Wingham,” he explained, “is that your two wells can supply a lot of water. Significantly more than most towns in Ontario... but best practice, in the industry, is a water tower, for emergencies, when there’s a fire, or a well goes down. That’s why you see water towers going up all over.”
Council voted unanimously to direct staff to investigate the possibility of a water tower, begin work on the grant application and report back with an update at the next meeting.