The Town of Newmarket wants to update its water and wastewater systems to meet growth challenges but is preparing for the impacts construction can cause.
Residents questioned the town at a virtual information session Feb. 8, as the municipality embarks on a water and wastewater plan update. The study aims to ensure that the town’s water infrastructure can accommodate growth while maintaining existing service standards.
Consultant Kevin Brown of T.Y. Lin International said that with the town projected to grow for the next 30 years, the water infrastructure needs upgrades.
“Up-sizing infrastructure requires heavy construction, so there are going to be impacts," Brown said.
York Region and Newmarket face issues with provincially mandated growth due to a lack of sewage capacity. A town staff report from December estimates the municipality has about five years of servicing capacity left based on a growth rate of 1,000 persons per year.
The information session highlighted the process for the update, which will include updates to the town’s water modelling. The project team will identify alternative servicing solutions, which will be presented to the public in a second information session in the summer.
“We are trying to make sure through our study that the planned growth is not unnecessarily delayed because we weren’t upgrading infrastructure fast enough,” Brown said.
The study will identify needed upgrades, Brown said, which should be funded through development charges.
A resident asked whether the study will examine water quality inconsistencies between different parts of town.
“It’s a consideration of any municipality regardless of water source,” Brown replied. “Yes, we’ll be looking into that.”
Asked about achieving net zero emissions in water and wastewater, capital project manager Robert Grech said there is the potential to look at various technologies for that.
“This study just provides a foundation for the town,” he said, adding that new technologies could be incorporated into the system going forward. “It’s meant to be flexible.”
You can submit questions and comments until Feb. 28. You can get more information at heynewmarket.ca/wwplan.
