An outdoor temporary water treatment system, set up after the Wheatley water treatment plant was damaged in a fire last year, has been put away for the winter, but will be back online by spring.
Article content
The temporary system, which utilizes two water treatment trailers, was shut down on Tuesday and winterized, Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission general manager Darren Galbraith said in a brief verbal report during Thursday’s monthly PUC meeting.
The communities of Wheatley and Tilbury are receiving water from Leamington’s water system at two interconnections and from four interconnections with the South Kent water treatment plant, he said.
“The temporary water treatment plant performed very well and was able to keep up with the water demands with the assistance from the South Kent water treatment plant,” Galbraith said.
“We would not have been able to keep up with the demand with just one of the two sources of potable water,” he said.
Article content
Commissioners heard in a previous report, the temporary system operates with two water treatment trailers that are rated for eight million liters a day.
When demands on the Leamington water system increase in the spring, Galbraith said the temporary water treatment system will be brought back online and the Leamington water valves will be closed.
A fire on Sept. 13, 2023 caused significant damage to the Wheatley water plant that serves approximately 8,500 residents in Wheatley and Tilbury.
Galbraith said the contractor is onsite continuing to repair the Wheatley water plant. He added the repairs are expected to be completed by the end of August 2025.
“It’s good to see that things are moving forward with what we are doing,” said Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor, who also serves as chair of the PUC board.
She added it has been “quite a journey” for everything that has taken place in Wheatley in the last year and a half.
Share this article in your social network