Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Town of Collingwood has selected the partnership of AECOM and Ainley & Associates Limited to design the expansion of the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant (WTP).
This AECOM team has worked together since 2005 on multiple projects including the Class Environmental Assessment (EA) and Conceptual Design for the plant expansion.
In May, the Town of Collingwood issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for engineering services for design and contract administration of the expansion and upgrades to the Raymond A Barker Water Treatment Plant (WTP) expansion.
Staff put together the RFP document in an expeditious manner, to ensure no delay in progressing with the expansion with council’s direction to proceed “as quickly as possible” to both expand the available capacity of the current plant, and ultimately increase the volume of available water produced by the plant.
“Addressing the water treatment plant expansion and the water capacity issue is one of the town’s highest priorities,” Mayor Brian Saunderson said in May. “Council directed staff to move forward with the plant expansion as quickly as practicable and issuing the RFPis an important step. The Town is aggressively pursuing remedies to address the water capacity issue and will pursue the quickest route to a new water treatment facility that will service our needs well into the future.”
According to a staff report, addressing drinking water capacity challenges “is one of our highest town priorities.” The project team is focusing on:
- A fast-track solution to achieve additional water treatment capacity as soon as possible, and prior to completion of the full expansion.
- Expansion of the Raymond A. Barker WTP capacity (and rehabilitation of aged infrastructure) meeting the requirements of the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) and in line with Collingwood’s Municipal Class (EA) approval and Master Servicing Plan, to facilitate growth of the Town of Collingwood and other neighbouring municipalities who depend on water from Collingwood.
- A building and shoreline design that the Town can showcase for locals and visitors to enjoy, that neighboring residents find aesthetically pleasing, and one that integrates into the surrounding area. Special consideration will be given to line-of-sight preservation, noise and air quality control, representation of First Nations, water education, and the potential impacts on climate change.
- A constructible design and an effective Shoreline and Erosion Sediment Control Plan that protects and enhances the shoreline and Nottawasaga Bay, and that is within the project capital budget.
The AECOM team says it s committed to an open dialogue with stakeholders, including residents of the Town of Collingwood, the Towns of New Tecumseth and The Blue Mountains, the Township of Clearview, Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), EPCOR, environmental advocates such as the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust, and the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture.