The Lambton Area Water Supply System says it needs $135 million in upgrades to the local water system in the next 20 years.

But it’s not expecting water users to foot the entire bill.
Under provincial law, municipal water systems in Ontario must be fully funded by water rates. But LAWSS is a regional system which brings water from Lake Huron in Point Edward all the way to the southern edges of Lambton County.
Clinton Harper, the general manager of LAWSS, and Pt. Edward Mayor Bev Hand, who is the chair of LAWSS board, are making the rounds to the municipalities involved in the regional water system to gauge the support for funding a long term capital plan.

Harper says there is one large projects on the books, twinning a water line from Sarnia to St. Clair Township which serves the petrochemical industry. It’s valued at $75 million.

“There are several large industries that depend solely on this watermain for potable and emergency service water. While breaks along this section are infrequent at this time, a break’s impact can be catastrophic,” Harper told Warwick council – LAWSS latest stop on its tour of users.

A pumping station on Indian Road in Sarnia also has to be replaced in the next 20 years, at a cost of $15 million. There are some repairs coming to the systems directly serving Warwick, Harper said. Warwick will directly benefit from the construction of a new pressure zone near Wyoming and the installation of a new local distribution water standpipe in the area.

That, along with the twinning of the water line in St. Clair, should provide more water pressure and volume to the Warwick area at a time when hundreds of housing units are being planned.

LAWSS is asking its member municipalities to agree to pay for some of the capital costs.

Harper says the plan in to approach upper levels of governments for grants to invest the $135 million in the system in the next 20 years.
Harper says they’re looking for grants above and beyond those available for municipal government water systems.
“The plan is not to impact you,” Harper told Warwick councillors. “We realize that … it’s really difficult for municipalities like you to put your locally significant needs behind the these regional projects. So, the goal is to find funding that isn’t accessible municipalities, to not impede your ability to apply for the same kinds of funding.”

And Hand says there will be no initial cash outlay for municipalities.

“This doesn’t mean anything in dollars at this point. It’s simply supporting the project,” says Hand. “We’re at the point where the equipment is aging, we need all of this work for long term planning. We have never got grants to my knowledge since the beginning but this is trying to go out and get something.”

Warwick council agreed to endorse the plan which would see the municipality contribute about $1.125 million to the projects over the next 20 years, should federal and provincial funding be found.

“Without this kind of collaboration, we’re not able to get a hold of those grants. And it’s imperative that we do,” says Warwick Mayor Jackie Rombouts.