Creemore system has room for growth
Recent testing at the Creemore Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) shows current unallocated capacity for 108 residential units. Membrane cartridges were replaced in July in the first stage of a five year plan to improve the facility. Clearview council was advised this week that a three month monitoring period which just ended showed results slightly better than anticipated.
Mike Rawn, Director of Public Works says there are a number of developers and private citizens anxiously awaiting the results of that study. Since learning in 2020 that the plant was under performing, council has been unable to approve any new building that would further strain the system.
A September 2020 report by consulting firm R.J. Burnside found that at times the WWTP was unable to treat all of the wastewater it receives, a problem most pronounced during colder weather. The report also found that the wastewater received at the plant is much stronger than anticipated at the time of design and therefore, the plant has never come close to handling the 860 cubic metre per day flow it was designed for. It was estimated that Stage 1 repairs to restore the system to average daily flow capacity of 585 cubic metres could cost in the range of 10 million dollars. Rawn says Stage 2 improvements to allow for future development could possibly double that cost.
Ward 5 Councillor Thom Paterson asked whether pre-treating the effluent from Creemore Spring Brewery before integrating it with the rest of the waste water would alleviate the problem. Rawn advised that discussions with Creemore Springs regarding the “over strength” agreement are ongoing, but that pre-treating effluent at their facility is unlikely due to zoning by laws and the potential for strong odours in downtown Creemore.
As part of the update presented to township council this week, Burnside also examined water supply capacity. Consultant Jeff Langlois reported that Creemore’s two wells could supply an additional 147 homes and the ground-level reservoir has capacity for another 298 homes.
