Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing Study

Key Documents for the Completed Environmental Study Report

• Environmental Study Report (ESR)
• Wallaceburg EA ESR Appendix A - Tech Memo
• Wallaceburg EA ESR Appendix B - Natural Heritage Reports
• Wallaceburg EA ESR Appendix C - Cultural Heritage Environment
• Wallaceburg EA ESR Appendix D - Consultation Record

At this time, an Environmental Study Report (ESR) has been completed to document the Class EA process, which identifies preferred solutions and design concepts for the Wallaceburg water supply strategy, raw water supply, and treated water transmission to meet future water demands through 2070.

Interested persons may provide written comments to the Project Team by March 25, 2023. All comments and concerns should be sent directly to Dhana Niriella at the CK PUC or to Tom Mahood at Jacobs at the addresses provided under the “Who’s Listening” section of the page.

In addition, a request may be made to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks within 30 calendar days of this notice being issued for an order requiring a higher level of study (i.e., requiring an individual/comprehensive EA approval before being able to proceed), or that conditions be imposed (e.g., require further studies), only on the grounds that the requested order may prevent, mitigate or remedy adverse impacts on constitutionally protected Aboriginal treaty rights. Request on other grounds will not be considered. Request should include the requester contact information and full name.

Requests should specify what kind of order is being requested (request for conditions or a request for an individual/comprehensive environmental assessment), how an order may prevent, mitigate or remedy potential adverse impacts on Aboriginal treaty rights, and any information in support of the statement in the request. This will ensure that the ministry is able to efficiently begin reviewing the request.

The request should be sent in writing or email to:

Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks
777 Bay Street, 5^th Floor
Toronto, ON M7A 2J3
minister.mecp@ontario.ca

and

Director, Environmental Assessment Branch
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks
135 St. Clair Avenue West, 1^st Floor
Toronto, ON M4V 1P5
EABDirector@ontario.ca

Requests should also be copied to Dhana Niriella and/or Tom Mahood by mail or by email. Please visit the ministry’s website for more information on requests for orders under section 16 of the Environmental Assessment Act at https://www.ontario.ca/page/class-environmental-assessments-section-16-order.

Your feedback is important to us.

Overview

The Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant (WTP), the raw water intake and the low-lift pump station (LLPS) equipment and structures have reached the end of their life expectancy and require frequent repairs and replacement. The Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing Schedule “C” Class Environmental Assessment (EA) develops a preferred solution for the Wallaceburg WTP and raw water intake/LLPS that will provide for current and future water demands of the Wallaceburg Drinking Water System (DWS). The Class EA also considers the potential for future greenhouse development on Base Line between Wallaceburg and Dresden, and opportunity of new water supply to the Dresden Water Distribution System (WDS), which is currently supplied by the Chatham WTP.

Rather than develop a single set of alternative solutions, the project team has broken the alternative solution development into three interdependent components:

• Water Supply Strategy – relating to the volume of water required for various future supply scenarios based on the future water demand projections
• Raw Water Supply – relating to the future location of the LLPS and intake. In addition to the existing location, two locations upstream of the existing LLPS and intake are considered. The size of the LLPS and intake will be determined through evaluation of the water supply alternatives.
• Water Transmission – relating to the alignment of the treated water transmission main between Wallaceburg and Dresden.

PIC #1, which was held virtually from October 14^th, 2021 to November 27^th, 2021, presented the alternative solution development and evaluation for Water Supply Strategy.

PIC #2, which was held virtually from January 17^th, 2022 to March 1^st, 2022 presented the alternative solution development and evaluation for Raw Water Supply and Water Transmission.

Site-specific constraints that were identified at the previously preferred location for the new LLPS and intake after PIC #2, which has resulted in the need to re-evaluate the Raw Water Supply alternatives. This re-evaluation is presented in PIC #3.

The preferred solutions of this Class EA are summarized as follows:

• Overall Water Supply Strategy – Build a new Wallaceburg WTP with a rated capacity of 28 ML/d to supply Wallaceburg, Dresden and future greenhouses along Base Line.
• Raw Water Supply – Construct a new LLPS and intake with a rated capacity of 34 ML/d at the second upstream location and construct a new twinned raw watermain to the Wallaceburg WTP.
• Water Transmission – Construct a new water transmission main (18.5 km) along Baldoon Road, Border Road, Elbow Line and Base Line between Wallaceburg and Dresden.

Design Concept Development

Phase 3 of the Class EA process is to develop Alternative Design Concepts, which examine alternate methods of implementing the preferred solutions.

PIC #3 presents the alternative design concepts development and evaluation for Water Treatment Plant and Raw Water Supply. The preferred Water Transmission solution will be further developed during the design phase.

Design concepts were developed based on the following:

• Water Treatment Plant: Alternative pre-treatment configurations prior to low-pressure membrane filtration that could be implemented at the new Wallaceburg WTP
• Raw Water Supply: Alternative raw water intake technologies that could be implemented at the new LLPS.

Water Supply Design Concepts

The base treatment technology for the new Wallaceburg WTP will be low-pressure membrane filtration, which will produce better quality treated water than conventional filtration, which is currently used at the existing Wallaceburg WTP. Low-pressure membrane filtration is the technology that is currently used at the South Chatham WTP.

Disinfection will be achieved via chlorination at the new Wallaceburg WTP. Treated water will then be stored in an on-site reservoir before entering the distribution system via a new High-lift Pump Station.

Alternative design concepts were developed for the Wallaceburg WTP based on different pre-treatment technologies. The purpose of pre-treatment is to enhance membrane filtration performance.

The alternative design concepts for water treatment are as follows:

• Alternative 1: Coagulation/Flocculation, Clarification, Membrane Filtration, Chlorination
• Alternative 2: In-line Coagulation, Membrane Filtration, Chlorination
• Alternative 3: Coagulation/Flocculation, Membrane Filtration, Chlorination

A comprehensive evaluation identified Alternative 3: Coagulation/Flocculation, Membrane Filtration, Chlorination as the preliminary preferred design concept for the new Wallaceburg WTP.

Raw Water Supply Design Concepts

The Raw Water Supply design concepts consist of two components:

• Raw Water Intake
• LLPS

A common LLPS design concept was developed and included as part of each alternative design concept. The alternative design concepts were developed based on different intake technologies. Intake screens prevent aquatic species and other debris from entering the LLPS.

The alternative design concepts for raw water supply are as follows:

• Alternative 1: Submerged Tee Screens
• Alternative 2: Headwall-Mounted Tee Screens
• Alternative 3: Flat Panel Fish Screens
• Alternative 4: Travelling Screens

A comprehensive evaluation identified Alternative 1: Submerged Tee Screens as the preliminary preferred design concept for the new raw water supply.

Next Steps

The next steps of the Wallaceburg Water Treatment Servicing Class EA are to confirm the preferred design concepts and to publish the Environmental Study Report (ESR), which is anticipated for February 2023. The design phase will begin following completion of the Class EA process.

The Study

The Public Utilities Commission for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent (CK PUC) is conducting a study to identify and re-evaluate alternatives for the existing Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to meet the current and future needs of the Community of Wallaceburg and neighbouring communities while also satisfying industrial demands. As a part of this study, aspects of the water supply infrastructure will be evaluated, including the following:

• A potential new Wallaceburg WTP
• Alternatives for a new raw water intake and a new low-lift pumping station for the Wallaceburg WTP
• Water availability at Chenal Ecarte to meet an increase in the forecast future water demand
• Water supply to the Dresden Water Distribution System (WDS), a potentially new independent pressure zone
• Water supply to support potential greenhouse development in the service area
• A review of the interconnection from the Lambton Area Water Supply System to the Wallaceburg WDS

The Wallaceburg WTP is a critical component within the Wallaceburg Water Supply System that is reaching the end of its life expectancy and is known to be susceptible to failures requiring frequent repairs and replacement. In addition to the anticipated needs for a resilient water supply, there is also a forecast of increased water demand for industrial growth, expanded service area, and development of greenhouse.

To identify the preferred solution(s) for water supply to meet future demands, the CK PUC will evaluate and identify potential alternatives for water supply and design preferred long-term solutions to revitalize and renew the Wallaceburg WTP to reliably meet current water quality regulations and system safeguards.

The Process

The assessment is being carried out in accordance with the planning and design process for “Schedule C” projects under the Environmental Assessment Act as outlined in the Municipal Engineers Association’s Municipal Class Environmental Assessment document (2000, as amended in 2007, 2011, and 2015).

Public input and comments are encouraged throughout the study. The Project Team will consult with the public and review agencies throughout the Class Environmental Assessment study. Public Information Centres (PICs) will be held to provide information on the study progress and to facilitate your input. We will publish invitation notices to the PICs in local newspapers and on the Municipality’s website www.ckpuc.ca and will distribute the notices to those individuals expressing an interest in this project. Because of restrictions under COVID-19, PICs may be held in a virtual format In advance of the scheduled time for the PICs, the required format for the PIC will be assessed, and appropriate information will be provided to the public through the Notice of PIC.

Public Consultation and Notices

Public Notices will be issued throughout the course of the study to notify stakeholders and the public of the project status, the Public Information Centre (PIC), and to invite the feedback.

• First Notice of Commencement: August 11, 2020
• Second Notice of Commencement: March 09, 2021
• Notice of Public Information Centre #1: October 14, 2021 to November 27, 2021
• Notice of Public Information Centre #2: January 17, 2022 to March 1, 2022
• Notice of Public Information Centre #3: July 14, 2022 to August 29, 2022
• Notice of Completion: February 23, 2023 to March 25, 2023

All personal information included in a submission, such as name, address, telephone number, and property location, is collected, maintained, and disclosed by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for the purpose of transparency and consultation. The information is collected under the authority of the Environmental Assessment Act or is collected and maintained for the purpose of creating a record that is available to the general public as described in Section 37 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal information you submit will become part of a public record that is available to the general public unless you request that your personal information remain confidential. For more information, please contact the Project Officer or the Ministry of the Environment’s Freedom of Information and Privacy Coordinator at 416-819-5148.