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Town receives status report on Raymond A. Barker water treatment plant expansion

March 19, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Town of New Tecumseth council received a status report on the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant expansion at the March 9 council meeting.

The report states that project budget expenditures are currently on track, and the project is generally progressing on schedule and on budget.

At the Town of New Tecumseth council meeting on Oct. 6 last year, a resolution was enacted recognizing a housing crisis in Ontario, and municipalities were working to increase housing supply and affordability to help achieve the province’s target of building 1.5 million homes over 10 years.

The Town of New Tecumseth is contributing 63 per cent of the budgeted $270 million cost to expand and modernize Collingwood’s Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant to provide the necessary infrastructure to meet the challenge of building new homes. The town directed staff to provide a quarterly report on the project.

The report provides information on the current progress of the project:

• Intake No. 1 chamber is complete with slide gates and pipe to the new membrane building.
• The temporary industrial pump station has been installed and is operational.
• Frazil piping has been installed from the High Lift Pump Station to the intake pipe.
• Installation of the caisson with two drill rigs is ongoing for the membrane building.
• Demolition of the existing raw water building, IPS, and feed piping is complete.

Anticipated progress for the next period:

• Continue installing the membrane building secant shoring wall.
• Start breaking and excavating rock within the membrane building shoring limits.
• Install rakers/tie-backs.
• Commissioning/full operation of the frazil ice system, sodium bisulphite, and membrane feed systems.

While significant progress has been made across key components, delays have occurred due to challenging site conditions.

High groundwater levels and bay water infiltration during excavation of the intake chamber have led to unstable soil and water conditions. These unforeseen conditions required additional dewatering measures as well as grouting and injection efforts to stabilize the excavation zone.

The Construction and Overall Status Report included with the report to council indicated that the actual project expenditures are in alignment with the forecasted case flow for the overall project. 

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