Greater Napanee Water Pollution Control Plant to undergo $70 million expansion, pave way for up to 4,000 new homes

Greater Napanee mayor Terry Richardson speaks outside the town's Water Pollution Control Plant while Ontario finance minister Peter Bethlenfalvy (left) and Hastings-Lennox and Addington MPP Ric Bresee (right) look on. The province announced nearly $35 million in funding for the water plant's expansion, nearly half the total $70 million project. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.

Adam Prudhomme
Editor

Greater Napanee’s Water Pollution Control Plant will undergo a major $70 million upgrade, greatly expanding the town’s capacity for residential, commercial and industrial builds.

Ontario finance minister Peter Bethlenfalvy visited the facility at 310 Water St. on Thursday to help unveil the announcement, which comes with a $34.8 million investment from the provincial government. The Town of Greater Napanee will provide the additional $35 million to cover the cost of the project.

“Houses and homes can’t be built without first putting in the infrastructure to support them,” Bethlenfalvy told a pool of reporters gathering outside the water treatment plant. “Of course what is key, is drinking water supply, stormwater and wastewater systems.”

“We’re investing $35 million right here in Greater Napanee to enable the construction of new homes as part of our government’s Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund,” added the finance minister. “This announcement will not only help to build up to 4,000 new homes across town, but will also help and expand and upgrade Napanee Pollution Control Plant, a critical project that will support the needs of this growing community for years to come.”

Joining the minister was Hastings-Lennox and Addington MPP Ric Bresee, Greater Napanee mayor Terry Richardson, town council and staff. Prior to the press conference they were given a tour of the current facility.

“There hadn’t been a new project on this site since 1978,” said Bresee. “We need to continue to expand these projects to allow for increased housing, to allow for increased economic development…This funding will support the expansion and the upgrade of the Greater Napanee Water Pollution Control Plant. It’s not just about improving the current, it’s about preparing for the future for generations to come right here in Greater Napanee and projects like this all across the province.”

Members of Greater Napanee council join Ontario finance minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and H-LA MPP Ric Bresee to announce a $70 million upgrade coming to the Greater Napanee Water Pollution Control Plant. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.

Bresee noted the current facility, which opened in 1953 and had only undergone one major upgrade since that time, is nearing capacity.

“Today’s announcement that our provincial government is investing approximately $35 million towards the modernization of our water pollution control plant is life altering for our community of almost 17,000 people,” said Richardson. “It secures the future of our town as it allows us to grow….With this investment I’m confident that we’ll be able to accommodate the growing business and development interests in our town, similar to the $575 million investment that Goodyear Canada announced just a short time ago.”

Richardson commended town staff for their ability to work ‘miracles’ with the current infrastructure of the plant. He then went off his prepared script to give a sense of what the project will mean for the community.

“I don’t know if everybody can fathom the vastness of what’s going to happen here now,” said Richardson. “A $70 million investment is the largest investment this community has made in its 170 year history. I know there will be some out there that will say this isn’t shiny. This isn’t sparkling. It doesn’t have a diving board attached to it. But you know what? The actions that we’re taking right now is going to put us in a position in the future to have all those shiny things. To have those sparkly things for years to come.”

Speaking on the technical side of things, Greater Napanee’s general manager of growth and development Michael Nobes said the new facility, which will be built directly adjacent to the current one, will be operational in early 2027.

“Not only is this adding upwards of 4,000 additional homes to the community, but it’s also adding a significant amount of commercial and industrial growth as well which the town is very well positioned, strategically located between Toronto and Ottawa, within major transit routes and a great amount of industrial land available,” said Nobes. “This plant expansion will further help the development of those lands for employment uses and help create a well-rounded community.”

Once complete, it’ll be a first of its kind in the province.

“We’re going to utilize a new technology to Ontario, activated granular sludge, which offers a reduced footprint for the site and some reduced chemical usage,” said Kristie Kelly, Greater Napanee’s director of environmental services. “This existing site will remain through the construction allowing a seamless transition to a new facility. Where we are now, this existing site will eventually be decommissioned. These digesters over here house our biosolids, they will remain part of the process for the new facility.”

According to the town’s website, the Water Pollution Control Plant currently utilizes a conventional activated sludge process, with an average design flow rate of 9087 m3/d. All treated wastewater is disinfected and discharged into the nearby Napanee River.

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