Ontario commits $4.5M to replace aging Fort Erie beachfront watermain

Fort Erie has secured $4.5 million from Ontario to replace an aging beachfront watermain that town documents say has created long-running maintenance and servicing problems along Colony Road, Windmill Point Lane and Staniland Park Road.

The provincial funding supports a town-selected plan to relocate the existing three-kilometre watermain into the road network, add 17 fire hydrants and reconnect 84 properties in a lakeshore neighbourhood where the current line has become difficult to access and maintain because of its age and beachfront alignment.

Ontario announced the funding on Thursday as part of a larger $44-million plan from the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program’s Health and Safety Water Stream that supports Niagara’s drinking water, sewage and stormwater systems.

The town’s plan calls for installation of a new 150-millimetre municipal watermain along existing roads with hydrants added to the system.

The preferred option would improve fire protection, water quality and maintenance access while reducing the need to flush the system compared with other alternatives studied by the town and consultants.

“The Town of Fort Erie expresses its appreciation to the Ontario government for this important investment,” Mayor Wayne Redekop said in the provincial release.

“This funding will enable critical upgrades to our local water infrastructure, essential for delivering safe, reliable services today while preparing our community for continued growth tomorrow.”

The town launched the environmental assessment in early 2024 to examine servicing problems in the beachfront neighbourhoods between Thunder Bay Road and Stonemill Road.

Public documents show the town and consultants examined alternatives that included maintaining the existing system, building a smaller replacement watermain, adding trucked water supply systems and moving some properties to private wells or cisterns.

One rejected option would have eliminated municipal water servicing entirely. Public consultation documents said residents under that approach could require weekly or bi-weekly water deliveries and regular water-quality testing.

The preferred road-alignment option carried an estimated cost of about $3.8 million in the town’s environmental assessment before inflation and emergency cost allowances were added. Another alternative with a smaller watermain and tanker-truck support was estimated at about $6.6 million.

The project also includes a trenchless crossing beneath Six Mile Creek, which means the pipe would be installed underground without digging an open trench through the creek.

Environmental assessment documents say the new watermain would pass through or near protected natural areas, including wetlands, fish habitat, forests, valleys and waterfowl wintering areas along the Lake Erie shoreline.

The report also flags archaeological potential in the study area, including the historic location of a shoreline windmill and gristmill.

The environmental assessment entered its 30-day public review period April 16. Residents and stakeholders can submit comments to the town until May 16.

After the review period closes, the town can move toward detailed design and construction unless the province receives a formal request for a higher level environmental assessment review tied to potential impacts on constitutionally protected Indigenous or treaty rights.

Ontario’s funding package also includes $24.5 million for upgrades at the Niagara Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant, $10.7 million for water, sanitary and storm infrastructure renewal in Welland and $3.8 million for rehabilitation work at the Martindale Pond weir in St. Catharines.

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