HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-16-034 - Old Mill Pumping Station Environmental Assessment
REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: June 13, 2016
SUBMITTED BY: Linda Cooper,Manager Development Engineering,
519-741-2200 ext. 7974
PREPARED BY: Licinio Costa,Project Manager Development Engineering,
519-741-2200 ext. 7132
WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward 4
DATE OF REPORT: May 24, 2016
REPORT NO.: INS-16-034
SUBJECT: Old Mill Sanitary Sewer Pumping Station
Class Environmental Study Report
____________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Old Mill Sanitary Sewer Pumping Station Environmental Study Report
(ESR) prepared by MTE Consultants Inc., dated May, 2016, be received; and
further
That the Old Mill Sanitary Sewer Pumping Station Environmental Study Report
(ESR) be filed for the mandatory thirty (30) day review period as required by the
Environmental Assessment Act.
BACKGROUND:
The existing Old Mill Sanitary Sewage Pumping Station (SPS) is located at 1810 Old
Mill Road, adjacent to the Grand River,as shown in Appendix A. The pumping station
currently services 165 ha of land at a theoretical peak flow rate of 287.7 l/s. Within the
pumping station catchment area, significant growth is projected including Conestoga
million square feet of
new building area. Based on its age, operating condition and available intake capacity,
the projected flows from future build out cannot be accommodated within the existing
pumping station and therefore upgrades are required to the station. Further to that, the
existing station has operational deficiencies such as no emergency storage which is
now alegislated requirement to avoid spills to the Grand River and Schneider Creek.
To complete the Schedule B Class Environmental Assessment as outlined in the
Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, June 2000, as amended in 2007 and 2011
document,the City of Kitchener appointed MTE Consultants Inc. The Environmental
Assessment evaluated capacity requirements within the catchment area based on
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ultimate build out, evaluation of different upgrade options (including new pumping
station, expansion of existing facility, expansion of maintenance program, reduction of
sewage flows, limit of future growth, discharge to different pumping station etc.),
upgrade requirements to existing local infrastructure and included a preliminary design
of the preferred alternative.
REPORT:
One of the key objectives of the study is to protect the environment, as defined in the
Ontario Environmental Assessment Act (EA Act), through the wise management of
resources. This has been achieved by identifying appropriate mitigation and monitoring
measures to minimize the potential adverse environmental effects. In addition, the
participation of a broad range of stakeholders in the study process has allowed for the
sharing of ideas and identification of creative solutions that are acceptable to affected
and interested parties.
A number of alternatives were developed to address the problem statement as
summarized in the following Table:
AlternativeDescription
1
Do Nothing (Municipal Class EA requirement)
2
Expand capacity of existing Old MillSPS and provide emergency
storage on north side of Old Mill Road.
3(East)
Replace existing station with a new station andemergency storage
on the south side of Old MillRoadat east side ofWillowlake Park.
3(West)
Replace existing station with a new station and emergency storage
on the south side of Old Mill Road at west side of Willowlake Park.
4
Expand Capacity of existing Old Mill SPSon north side of Old Mill
Roadand provide emergency storage on south side of Old Mill Road.
5
Replace existing stationwith a new station andemergency storage
on southside of Old Mill Roadand on west side of Schneider Creek.
Alternative screened outbecause it is located within a Regionally
Significant Core Environmental Featureand Provincially Significant
Wetland.
6
Eliminate pump stationusing a siphon underSchneider Creek and
building a gravity sewer.
Alternativescreened out because there are significant environmental
impacts with this alternative as the gravity sewer alignment would run
adjacent to a Regionally Significant Core Environmental Feature and
there is an ongoing risk of overflow to the Grand River. Furthermore,
it is not feasible to construct a siphon underneath Schneider Creek
due to low flow velocities.
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These alternative solutions (excluding Alternatives 5 and 6 which were screened out
at an earlier stage) were evaluated against a set of defined evaluation criteria covering
the Natural Environment, Social Environment, Heritage/Archaeological/Cultural
Environment, City Operations, Technical and Economic categories.
An additional alternative was also considered where partial flows would be diverted to
Homer Watson Pumping Station. Results of the flow analysis conducted by MTE,
indicated that Homer Watson Sanitary Pumping Station has excess peak capacity.
Furthermore, the flow analysis identified that it would be possible to direct flow from the
Conestoga College lands west of Conestoga College Blvd to the Homer Watson SPS.
Planning staff advisthe lands
adjacent to Homer Watson Boulevard in the Lower Doon neighbourhood for increased
development as part of a City Node. MTE identified these areas identified for increased
development as falling within the Homer Watson SPS catchment area. It was noted that
some changes to the current zoning would be required in order to implement the vision
of the Official Plan. Therefore, the alternative of diverting flows to Homer Watson
Pumping Station was screened out since the excess peak capacity would be used up by
the increased development.
Preferred Alternative
The completion of the Environmental Study Report (ESR) for Old Mill Sanitary Sewer
Pumping Station has established a preferred alternative that will allow future growth and
development within the Old Mill Sanitary Sewer Pumping Station catchment area.
The preferred alternative, as shown in Appendix B, includes replacing the existing
station with a new station and emergency storage on the south side of Old Mill Road at
the west side of Willowlake Park, namely Alternative 3 West.
In comparison to other alternatives, Alternative 3 West performs better when assessed
against social environment criteria, construction criteria, financial criteria and technical
criteria. Alternative 3 West was seen to have the following benefits:
Has fewer impacts to environmental features compared to other options
Minimizes tree removal, especially within the woodland area north of Old Mill Road
which is identified as a Regional Core Environmental Feature
Located on a sloped area within an open field section of Willow Lake Park which is
used less than the play structure or swing sets
Allows for improvements to the existing play structure and trail system within
Willow Lake Park
Respects and improves culturally significant views of the Grand River and Pioneer
Tower from Old Mill Road
Allows for the construction of a pedestrian lookout overlooking the river and
Pioneer Tower, complete with interpretive signs
Provides good, safe access staff
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Climate Change requirements
Removed from the erosion and slope stability issues along the Grand River related
to developing a new pump station on the north side of Old Mill Road
Reduced floodplain impacts compared to constructing a pumping station north of
Old Mill Road
Removed from the erosion and slope stability issues along the Grand River related
to developing a new pump station on the north side of Old Mill Road
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
vision through the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
6 Capital Forecast for implementation in
2017. The project is to be funded 100% from Development Charges, with an estimated
cost for the preferred Alternative 3 West to be $7,847,850.00.
Class Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Design for Old Mill Sanitary Sewer
Pumping Station was awarded to MTE Consultants Inc. at the total cost of $228,598.27.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
COLLABORATE Project team consisted of Grand River Conservation Authority, City
of Kitchener Parks, Engineering, Environmental, Heritage and Operations and
Consultant.
Project team met with interested agencies including: City of Kitchener Departments
and Grand River Conservation Authority to discuss the EA, land use, environmental
constraints, serviceable lands and current and proposed development initiatives within
the area.
INFORM
advance of the committee meeting.
Notice of Commencement to introduce the study; a mail out was sent to the
residents within the study area, identified stakeholders, and published in The Record.
Public Information Centre (PIC) # 1, October 28, 2015 the PIC notice was mailed to
residents within the study area, identified stakeholders, and published in The Record.
PIC 1 focused on the study scope and objectives, proposed alternatives, the technical
investigations to be undertaken, and information on the preliminary criteria for
evaluating the alternatives.
Public Information Centre # 2, March 29, 2016 the notice was mailed to residents
within the study area, identified stakeholders, and published in The Record. PIC 2
focused on the evaluation of alternative solutions and the preliminary preferred
alternative.
CONCLUSION:
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In accordance with Class Environmental Assessment process together with studies and
detailed assessment completed by the Consultant Team, the Project Team has selected
a preferred alternative, Alternative 3 West, which was presented to stakeholders and
residents on March 29, 2016.
stakeholder input to review the study findings and receive comments on this project. As
part of the Class EA process, staff also met with various agencies to address their
concerns. In conclusion, staff recommend that the Old Mill Sanitary Sewer Pumping
Station Study Report (ESR) prepared by MTE Consultants Inc., dated March, 2016 be
received.
Further, staff recommend that the Old Mill Sanitary Sewer Pumping Station Study
Report (ESR) be filed with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
(MOECC) for the mandatory thirty (30) day review period, as required by the
Environmental Assessment (EA) Act.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Justin Readman, Executive Director, Infrastructure Services
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