By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Council for the Town of Essex will spend $499K, not including HST, to retain Stantec Consulting Ltd. to conduct a town-wide Servicing Master Plan for providing water, wastewater, and stormwater services to residents and businesses.
Council also authorized additional funding of $88,502.08 from the Water Reserves and $82,334.72 from the Urban Levy Reserve.
The Master Servicing Plan will provide a comprehensive, system-wide technical assessment of the existing capacity, future demand, and performance under growth and climate stress scenarios, Kevin Girard, Director of Infrastructure Services, explained to members of Essex Council when the matter was discussed at the February 2 meeting.
This includes identifying where infrastructure upgrades, extensions, or operational changes are required to support planned development, while improving resilience to more intense rainfall and inflow and infiltration – the entering of stormwater into the sanitary system. It will also align infrastructure priorities with the Town’s Official Plan, a roadmap guiding development for the municipality for the next two-decades.
By aligning infrastructure timing with growth and capacity constraints, the plan reduces the risk of premature capital spending, emergency repairs, and unplanned draws on reserves, while supporting orderly and sustainable development.
“The Town is currently relying on a collection of individual servicing and environmental assessment studies that are – or are becoming – outdated, are fragmented, and not fully aligned with current growth pressures or evolving climate conditions, such as the increasing frequency of extreme weather events,” Girard said.
That means infrastructure decisions are being made without a single integrated servicing framework.
Stantec is recommended as the consultant, due to its knowledge of Essex’s system and existing hydraulic model for development and retention, Girard explained.
“I’m excited about this,” Mayor Sherry Bondy said.
Councillor Jason Matyi noted this report brings a little excitement on where the Town can plan for some smart development. “This could really show where we should be improving and where we should be directing some of our growth.”