Potential Expansion of Water and Sewer Servicing

Potential Expansion of Water and
Sewer Servicing

for the former
Town of Wiarton
Objectives
The Town of South Bruce Peninsula
commissioned the Potential Expansion of
Water and Sewer Servicing Study to
prepare cost estimates for potential
expansion of the water and sewer
servicing areas within the former Town of
Wiarton
Objectives
Various portions of the Town have
previously been identified as possible
candidates for expansion of water and
sewer servicing. These areas are largely
in the northwest, west and southwest
portions of the former Town of Wiarton.
Objectives
Particularly in the west and northwest,
further expansion of water and sewer in
this area have been hindered by relatively
high costs due to extensive bedrock
conditions, and in some cases,
challenging topography to install gravity
sewers. In part, the topography challenge
has been overcome with a proposed new
sewage pumping station at the west end of
Elm Street.
Objectives
In all cases, it is assumed that watermains
and sewers would be installed under the
same contract at the same time for all
streets. As such, watermain costs have
been reduced in that the majority of the
restoration costs, if appropriate for an
urban street section, have been included
in the sanitary sewer costs and not
"doubled up" in the watermain costs.
Objectives
The Potential Expansion of Water and
Sewer Servicing Report has been partly
based on previous studies, including the
former Schedule C Class Environmental
Assessment completed for the former
Town of Wiarton to identify options for
expansion of watermain and sewers in
select areas of the Town.
Cost Estimate
Cost estimates for proposed watermain
and sanitary sewer expansions are
included in Tables 1 and 2, respectively.

In preparing the cost estimates, a
significant premium for rock excavation
was included for watermain and sewer
installation for the areas north of George
Street.
Cost Estimate
For areas south of George Street, a lower
premium for rock excavation was also
included.

The Tables include 12% for engineering,
13% for contingencies, and an additional
5% for the contractor's insurance,
bonding, mobilization, etc.
Conclusion
The Potential Expansion of Water and
Sewer Servicing report summarizes
possible expansion of water and sewer
services for the Town of Wiarton and
provides and approximate cost estimate
toward these services. All pipeline sizes
are subject to modest revision based on
final design. Costs in all cases do not
include costs on private property to install
individual water or sewer services.
Water Metering
Conservation and Accountability

What are some of the benefits of installing water meters in a
municipality?
Pay for only the water you use.
Track your water use.
Detect leaks in your water system.
Decreased water consumption.

Pay for only the water you use
Meters allow you to pay only for the water you use. If there are less
than four people in your household and you use water wisely, you
will likely see a decrease on your water bill after a meter is installed.

Track your water use
Meters also allow you to track your water use so you can determine
if new appliances, fixtures or habit changes are affecting your water
bills.
Detect Leaks in Your Water System

Decreased water consumption
Environment Canada has shown that once meters are installed in a
municipality, water consumption decreases from 18-25%. This means
that less drinking water needs to be treated and less wastewater is sent
to the wastewater treatment plant for treatment.
Meters are a regular reminder of our water consumption and people who
are aware are more likely to change their water habits with little or no
effort.
Report Recommendations

The following is an excerpt from
the Water Strategy Expert Panel's
report, Watertight: The case for
change in Ontario's water and
wastewater sector.
The Needed Reforms

The Panel believes that a wide range of
changes to the water sector will be needed to
meet the challenges ahead. We have focused
on the following reforms to ensure that systems
are sustainable and rates reasonable:
Systems must look to their customers
for financial sustainability.
Consumers should pay the full cost of the services they
consume, which will require full metering. This will help
to ensure that systems are not overbuilt, conservation is
encouraged and nature is respected. With full-cost
recovery and improved economies of scale, most water
systems in Ontario will be able to rely on their customer
base to maintain and operate their assets over the long
term. Only where systems are shown to be
unsustainable should the Province provide subsidies,
and in those cases it should act as trustee of the assets
until the system can be made sustainable.
For More Information

Watertight: The case for change in
Ontario's water and wastewater sector is
available at the Panel's website
www.waterpanel.ontario.ca.
Water Metering Financial Impact
· As of 2007 the Wiarton Water Treatment Facility
is paid for. Water consumers have been paying
approx $187,000 every year since 1994. This
fee was built into the bi-monthly water bills.
· The Town now has the ability to provide water
meters to it consumers without charging an
additional fee. Simply put, we will use the funds
currently being collected to pay the water plant
off to pay for water metering over the next 3 to 4
years.
· The low bid for the installation of water meters
and a fixed network reading solution for Wiarton
was $ 520,000
Fixed Network Technology
· Fixed Network technology consists of a remote
reading device (installed at each house beside
the meter), a transmitter, and receiving station
(computer at Town Hall)
· This technology allows water meter readings to
be sent directly to Town Hall 4 times per day,
allows for immediate notification for leak
detection and eliminates the need to hire a
meter reader.
Backflow Prevention
· Along with the installation of water meters is the
installation of backflow preventions devices in
each home, business and institution. Backflow
prevention devices prevent any water or
substance from leaving the house or business
and re-entering the water supply. Backflow
prevention devices are required on all new
buildings under the Ontario Building Code.
Tendering Process
· In December 2006 four water metering companies
submitted proposals to install water meters, backflow
preventers and a fixed network meter reading solution.
· On January 8, 2007 Town Council approved the
following recommendation:
That the Town of South Bruce Peninsula notify Canadian
Water Services (CWS) that they ranked first upon review
of all water metering proposals for the installation of
water meters and a fixed network meter reading solution
for the Town of Wiarton. And furthermore, subject to a
successful review of the project on January 30th 2007
council authorizes the preparation of a contract by the
municipal solicitor with CWS.