North America Construction (NAC) has been chosen to handle upgrading the Golden Pheasant Wastewater Treatment Plant in Huntsville.
District of Muskoka council approved the Morriston, Ont. company to do the work during its Feb. 20 meeting.
According to a report by Michael Currie, director of water and wastewater services, Golden Pheasant is one of two wastewater treatment plants with the other being the Mountview facility at 20 Mountview Ave.
He explains an assessment done in 2014 determined the “preferred solution” is to expand Golden Pheasant and divert flows from the Mountview facility.
“Consolidating the facilities and diverting all flows to the Golden Pheasant [plant] will ultimately enable the decommissioning of the Mountview [plant],” says Currie.
NAC was chosen against three other contractors. James Steele, commissioner of engineering and public works, says they’re projected to save money on the project, noting NAC’s $15.7 million bid was around $3 million less than what district staff estimated the project would cost.
Currie points out Golden Pheasant is located along Hwy. 60, just a few kilometres from downtown Huntsville.
Once the upgrades are done, Currie says the facility will gain the five sewage pumping stations that divert to Mountview, along with the three that already flow to Golden Pheasant.
Currie says this is the second phase of the three-phase project.
He explains the work was designed by J.L. Richards and Associates Ltd. and will see the treatment capacity of Golden Pheasant “nearly double” to around 8,100 cubic metres per day “while modernizing equipment and instrumentation.”
“These upgrades will support the existing and future growth in the catchment while improving the facility’s operational efficiencies.,” details Currie. “Consolidating both facilities into a single operation is expected to reduce overall operating costs associated with providing wastewater treatment in the [Huntsville urban service area.”
Currie expects the project to start between April and June 2024 and will wrap up in early 2026, adding he doesn’t anticipate there will be any service disruptions.
District Chair Jeff Lehman was happy to see the project moving forward congratulating staff on pushing forward “on a very significant project.”
