Shovels need to go in the ground soon to help Innisfil’s Lakeshore Water Pollution Control Plant meet future growth needs.
The big issue, however, lies in figuring out a way to pay for the expansion.
Senior InnServices Utilities staff have confirmed the project tender that closed in April came in at $290 million, nearly double the initial $150-million estimate from a few years ago. This cost has sent InnServices into talks with the town and local developers to see how much of the cost of this growth-related work could be up-fronted by builders.
“Innisfil’s growing,” InnServices chief operating officer Tom Panak said in an interview with Village Media. “The plant expansion is to allow for this growth. That should take Innisfil into the future for a number of years.”
Village Media has also learned there may be some provincial funding available down the road, though it’s unclear when that would be announced.
With so much in the air, the project has yet to receive a final go-ahead from the InnServices board of directors.
“There’s many challenges in this marketplace,” Panak said. “The costs that came in were higher than our cost estimate. We’re just currently discussing next steps. We’re sorting through a number of things, including financing for this project, because of the high cost.”
The plant, located on St. Johns Road, was constructed in 1987 and has a rated capacity of 17,000 cubic metres per day. It currently operates at 65 per cent of that.
Design of the expansion began in 2019. If completed as planned, it will help the plant service an additional 9,000 units, and discharge into the lake would increase to a total of 25 million litres daily, Panak said.
“Dollar-wise,” it would be the largest capital project ever undertaken by InnServices, he said.
“The community grows. We have to service that growth,” Panak said. “We have to do it in a responsible way. We have to continue with having the effluent quality be where it needs to be to meet or exceed requirements … as we discharge into Lake Simcoe.
"The sensitivity and quality of that body of water is important to all. That’s a big part of this project. When you see what is coming into that plant, the quality of influent, and you compare it to what’s leaving, it’s amazing and really brings home the importance of a well-functioning, well-operating plant.”
Innisfil’s master servicing plan notes additional wastewater treatment capacity is needed to meet requirements for future growth, with the town’s population anticipated to increase by 40,000 people and 16,000 jobs by 2051.
The town has also pledged to the province it will build 6,300 new homes by 2031.
Innisfil chief administrative officer Oliver Jerschow, who also serves as chair of the InnServices board, says the municipality and its utility provider are hardly alone in dealing with huge jumps in construction prices.
“Like all municipalities in Ontario, we have seen significant increases in the cost of our infrastructure projects over the last several years,” he said. “We take value for money very seriously. Most of the factors driving these cost increases are out of our control, so we are doing what we can to stretch our infrastructure budget as much as possible.
"This is also why funding support from the provincial and federal levels of government is so important. Our communities need to have the right infrastructure in place in order to be able to grow," Jerschow added.
The project will also introduce the biological nutrient removal process into the plant, and it will include, too, a new headworks building with mechanical fine screens and vortex grit removal, an ultraviolet disinfection system, and sludge management, among other features.
InnServices president and chief executive officer Danny Persaud says InnServices currently has about $1.3 billion in assets, a “big achievement for such a small town,” and notes the expansion would also bring “state-of-the-art” membrane filtration technology into the plant.
“That will really, really help to reinforce the health and quality of the lake,” he said. “It’s important for Innisfil ratepayers to know that InnServices is here to support current needs, but also future growth needs as well. We’re doing our best to ensure the quality of the lake is of paramount importance.”
Persaud also emphasized InnServices’ need to ensure existing residents aren’t burdened with the cost of the expansion.
“It’s supposed to be paid for by growth,” he said. “Existing ratepayers should not have to pay for this project long-term.”
