Chatham-Kent council opted to encourage a change of fate for the Coatsworth bulk water station.
This came at the Sept. 21 council meeting after councillors listened to a handful of deputations and received a petition with about 220 names on it asking that the water station remain operational.
Council heard from several residents over the convenience of the station for them, residentially and agriculturally. People utilize bulk water stations to fill tankers that can transport water for cisterns or to be utilized for irrigation purposes on fields.
The Public Utilities Commission had decided to close the Coatsworth station due to the fact it was not up to standards for backflow prevention and cross-contamination. The Merlin bulk water station was in the same situation, but was approved for upgrades. It generates about ten times the business, according to PUC officials.
So, while the Merlin station is in the middle of about $200,000 in upgrades, the Coatsworth one was slated for eventual closure.
Council, in a 15-3 vote, urged the PUC to reconsider.
At a time where council has repeatedly heard from the public to curtail spending and find savings, both West Kent councillors led the charge to push the PUC to reconsider.
“Individuals aren’t just using bulk water stations to fill up pools. They’re using them to fill up cisterns and also for agricultural operations,” Coun. Melissa Harrigan said. “This is a small-dollar budget decision that has a larger impact on the agricultural community.”
If Coatsworth were to close, the nearest bulk water station would be under about 9.4 kilometres away in Wheatley. Comparatively, Bothwell and area bulk water users travel about 15 kilometres to obtain water from the Thamesville station.
Darren Galbraith, general manager of the PUC, said there are a dozen bulk water stations in place across the municipality.
Merlin is seeing the upgrades while Coatsworth faces closure, he said, as the former brings in about $35,000 a year in revenue, while the latter earns about $3,200.
“If we’re looking at revenue, Coatsworth is the obvious choice (to cut),” Galbraith said.
Merlin’s station sits in the “middle of the pack,” he added, referring to revenue generation.
Harrigan also alleged there are problems at the PUC.
“It’s concerning for me as a councillor this is coming up at a time when we are doing a major governance review of the PUC,” she said.
Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor, chair of the PUC, fired back.
“Big governance issues with the PUC? I would like to correct that statement. It was communication between the municipality and the PUC. I don’t think it was a governance issue with the PUC.”
This is in reference to development plans that see southwest Chatham as an area of growth, whereas the PUC did not have plans for water and wastewater infrastructure to be put in place in that area of the municipality to the same extent.
Bulk water users pay about twice what users on the PUC distribution pay on a volume basis for water, Galbraith said, but they pay no regular transmission charges.
All revenue generated in terms of water and wastewater rates, by legislation, but be used in water and waste water business, he added.
The PUC will now reconsider its plans for the bulk water station.
