Windsor, West Hants revisit sewer options

By Nadine Armstrong

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

They are trying to get their stuff together.

The Town of Windsor and the Municipality of West Hants are taking one more stab at sharing sewage treatment infrastructure. After having examined what appeared to be all the possibilities, the town presented a third option during the recent joint council session.

Public Works director Don Beatty told council that the town has looked into a lagoon treatment system, and the numbers reported back were the most cost-efficient -- not only for the town, but possibly for the municipality, as well.

Rather than have Windsor pump their waste to Falmouth, an option already deemed impractical and expensive, Falmouth could send their sewage across the river to Windsor.

Windsor CAO Louis Coutinho said, “in essence, the Windsor option is very economical. Also, it’s a sustainable project, in that operating costs are much lower and fairer to tax payers. For some years, we’ve been looking at a sewage treatment plant and always thought a joint one would be most economical. But when our consultant looked at the Falmouth option, it was the most expensive with very high capital and operational costs.”

Look at the costs

The Windsor to Falmouth option would have cost $4 million for the town to construct and an additional $5 million for the municipality, with operational costs well over $400,000 each.

Coutinho said the Windsor solution would still cost the town about $4 million, but West Hants only $1 million, with a shared infrastructure cost of under $400,000.

“All they would have to do is build the infrastructure to pump it out,” he said. “Basically the largest flow is in Windsor; it doesn’t make sense to go from large to small.”

After more than a year of examining the possibilities, the numbers presented that evening came as a surprise to West Hants.

“I’m shocked by the numbers I just heard,” Falmouth-area Coun. Rick Gaudet said. The municipality showed a strong interest in learning more, which was good news for the town.

“It looks like, somehow, the West Hants council missed some of the facts,” Couthino said. “And there is an interest now.”

The municipality has already received some infrastructure monies from the province, and have a stricter time-line for completion of a system, considering growth in the Falmouth area. “Right now we’re just looking at phase I, and trying to do this in baby steps,” Coun. Shirley Pineo said of the West Hants sewer treatment project. “But I also want is most affordable for the people of Falmouth.”



Condense time-line

The town’s original time line could be condensed, Mayor Anna Allen said, if there is a partnership in place. “If we partner with West Hants, it may not take the five years we planned. And if it saves money for the taxpayers at the end of the day, why wouldn’t we?”

Coutinho also pointed out that the lagoon system is not only more cost-efficient, but considerably more environmentally friendly. “It is important that we recognize that, right now, we’re polluting the Avon River, and that has to stop. And at the end of the day, we have to consider how this is going to effect our taxpayers, and do what is best for them economically.”

He said, “what we need is a good neighbour agreement. But it has to be fair to everyone. The province is only going to want to build one treatment plant and consider the best project.”

The CAOs of Windsor and West Hants plan to meet this month to revisit the possibilities based on the town’s most recent study.