Smiths Falls is preparing for one of its biggest infrastructure projects in years as council looks to modernize the town’s wastewater system.
Mayor Shawn Pankow says the work is about planning for growth, controlling future costs and making sure the system can serve the community for decades. The project is expected to cost more than $30 million, with the town hoping senior government funding can help cover part of the bill.
The town hired a consulting team to review options and present a long-term recommendation to council. The preferred plan is to move toward a digester system, which would change how solid waste is handled before it is removed from the site.
Pankow says council had to balance the size of the investment with the future savings it could create.
The decision also comes as Smiths Falls continues a broader renewal of its water and wastewater infrastructure. Over the past number of years, the town has replaced its water treatment plant, built a new water tower and secured major support for trunk watermain upgrades.
Pankow says the water treatment plant came online around 2010 and was designed with future needs in mind.
The new water tower added needed storage capacity, while the next phase of work will deal with pressure and pipe capacity. The province has committed more than $13 million toward major trunk watermain upgrades, which are also expected to include road, sidewalk and sewer separation work.
Pankow says the wastewater project also connects to the town’s environmental goals.
Pankow is also reassuring residents about the quality of the town’s drinking water. In a post on his official Facebook page, he said concerns linking testing at the Highway 43 compost site to a public drinking water risk are not supported by the facts. He said results were provided to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, and modest exceedances were found in soil samples, not groundwater.
He said the system is subject to strict provincial rules, regular testing, inspections and trained operators.
Pankow says the same careful planning is now being applied to wastewater, with the goal of protecting the Rideau River and giving Smiths Falls the capacity it needs as the town grows.
