Residents won’t notice a difference, but there will soon be a more-streamlined water supply system leading to West Montrose.
The construction of a new water line from St. Jacobs to Conestogo to West Montrose will keep a steady water supply heading to its final destination, says the Region of Waterloo’s director of water services, Nancy Kodousek.
First up, the region will be constructing the watermain from Conestogo Plains water supply system to West Montrose.
Currently, when the reservoirs in West Montrose get a little low, the region trucks in water to the village.
“Historically, the reason we were looking at this is to make sure that we have a long-term sustainable water supply for West Montrose. We have a water treatment plant there, and it is operating, but when demands are more than what the wells can supply, or the demand is greater, that difference is why we need to truck water in,” she said. “We just need a sustainable water supply system. We are operating the plant, but we need to add more water into the system.”
The watermain construction wasn’t the only alternative for the region, but after conducting an environmental assessment process, Kodousek says this was the best option.
“What we do when we do a project like this is we look at all the alternatives,” she said of the seven-kilometre line. “We look at what the problem statement is, which is providing a stable water supply, we looked at the options and the best option was to eventually tie into the integrated urban water supply system.”
The $4-million project started with public consultations in November 2014. Now, the region is asking for bids from contractors looking to take on the task of delivering water to West Montrose.
“We are going to tender it this spring, and the work would also begin this spring. The work is going to happen this year, and we are advertising this spring for construction starting,” she said, adding that the piece connecting Conestogo Plains to West Montrose is just one phase of the project.
Kodousek says the water services department is eager to get the project started.
“This is one of the projects that we are very excited by right now. This is just the first phase, though. It will probably be one construction season to do each phase,” she said.
The second phase to connect St. Jacobs to the Conestogo Plains system is planned to begin in spring 2018.
