$105K secured to explore municipal water source
Funding will be used for production-scale well and testing
It’s been a long time coming, but John Baird is hopeful a recent provincial government funding announcement will help establish a municipal water supply for Traytown.
Traytown secured $105,000 in cost-shared funding – $85,696 from the provincial government with the municipality covering the remainder – to conduct well drilling and water testing.
The investment is part of government’s recent $10.6-million, three-year Municipal Capital Works program.
The projects – which include water and wastewater systems, roads and community-oriented infrastructure throughout the province – will be cost-shared, with municipalities kicking in over $4 million in funding, according to a news release.
Currently, Traytown’s approximately 160 homes and various businesses rely on private wells for water.
And according to Baird, the town’s deputy mayor, water disruptions have become an issues for a number of residents.
“It really is a hit and miss situation; some people are very happy with the system they have place, but for others it’s a dire straits situation.”
In the past, the town looked at tying into Glovertown’s water system but the associated cost was out of reach for the small town.
A ground water source seemed to be the ideal choice, Baird said, and past work has identified two potentially suitable locations.
A production well is considered a very early step towards development of a water system for the entire town.
If it proves successful, Baird noted moving forward would require significant infrastructure investments, including waterlines, a treatment station and a holding tank for peak service periods.
“It’s going to take several millions of dollars and several years to complete,” he said. “But if this proves out, we’ll be in good shape to start that process.”
Council is looking to move forward with the productionscale well as soon as possible, but will reach out to the consultant on the best approach first.