Lakeshore Breaks Ground on $55 Million Expansion to Denis St. Pierre Water Pollution Control Plant

Processing of new development permit applications resumes

On Tuesday, November 30, Mayor Bain and members of Council for the Municipality of Lakeshore officially broke ground for a multimillion-dollar expansion to the Denis St. Pierre Water Pollution Control Plant.

The expansion is a critical investment in wastewater treatment capacity for the Municipality’s northwestern urban areas. The expansion will increase treatment capacity by 70 per cent. The project, expected to be completed in the summer of 2023, will be funded through Wastewater Development Charges. 

“This is a remarkable investment, but not just in the amount of water we can treat,” said Mayor Tom Bain. “It's an investment in the needs of our community. It’s an investment made on behalf of Lakeshore’s future citizens, business owners, and all those who will call our community home. Before we know it, we’ll be back in 2023 with scissors to cut the ribbon and mark the next chapter of Lakeshore’s future.” 

“Thanks to everyone who has helped make this project a reality,” said Chief Administrative Officer Truper McBride. “While we are ahead of schedule breaking ground, we’ve continued to maintain a balanced approach to accommodate new development within the framework we developed in 2020. We’ve also continued communication with local developers to advise them of our constraints and the expected timelines for application approvals.”

Background Information/Reports: 

• As the expansion of the project is related to growth in the Municipality, the cost of the project will be recouped through Wastewater Development Charges. In October, Council agreed to fund the project through external debt, with repayments to be made via Development Charges. Learn more in the October 12 Administrative Report on Financing of Construction Project.
• In 2020, the Plant reached its operational capacity due to higher than anticipated population growth and changes to residential water use patterns during the pandemic. As a result of its operational limits, Lakeshore created a framework which allowed for approved and “in process” development permit applications to move forward, with new applications deferred until tendering of the Plant. The processing of new applications has resumed, with sanitary sewer connections to be made once the Plant is operational. Learn more in the December 4 Administrative Report on Plant Capacity. 
• The Denis St. Pierre Water Pollution Control Plant, built in 1977, treats wastewater in the northwestern portion of the Municipality of Lakeshore. 
• Lakeshore’s 2018 Water and Wastewater Master Plan update identified the Plant as nearing its treatment capacity, which spurred an optimization study that increased plant capacity.
• In 2019, Lakeshore initiated the Environmental Assessment (EA) process to expand the capacity of the plant. The EA was completed in 2020. That year, Council budgeted $2.2 million for the design and engineering of the Plant expansion.
• Council approved the awarding of the construction tender to North America Construction (1993) Ltd. in the amount of $43,911,679.00.  Learn more here: September 14 Administrative Report on Awarding of Construction Tender.