From left to right: Peggy Slama (Town of Collingwood), Nazy Majidi (Flato Developments), Brittany Robertson (GTDI President), CAO Sonya Skinner (Town of Collingwood), Mayor Yvonne Hamlin (Town of Collingwood), Jay Beech (Georgian Communities), Dan Hurley (Tatham Engineering), Ken Hale (Great Gulf), Rob Elliott (County of Simcoe), Monica Quinlan (Town of Collingwood)
There was an overwhelming feeling of optimism at Crozier’s headquarters while hosting a gathering on behalf of Georgian Triangle Development Institute (GTDI) in celebration of a once-in-a-generation infrastructure project – the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant expansion.
Attending the event were representatives from the Mayor’s Task Force, Simcoe-Grey MPP Brian Saunderson, Town of Collingwood Mayor Yvonne Hamlin and CAO Sonya Skinner, along with Collingwood and New Tecumseth Councillors and staff, Kenaidan Contracting Ltd. and many others. The celebration signalled a significant milestone to future growth opportunities across Simcoe County.
“The impact of this project will not only support future growth plans of the region,” says Brittany Robertson, GTDI’s president and Crozier’s land development manager. “It will allow the local communities to thrive.”
The Challenge
In early 2021, Collingwood’s water treatment facilities had reached 80 percent capacity, threatening the water supply to a large region in Simcoe County. Collingwood’s water treatment facilities supply water to the Town of New Tecumseth (including Alliston, Beeton, Tottenham), as well as Clearview and Essa, on top of servicing Collingwood.
As a result of water supply limitations, in April 2021 an Interim Control Bylaw (ICBL) was implemented, stymieing growth in Collingwood as the water treatment plant would not be able to service new developments in the community at the current pace of development. The Town then implemented a Servicing Capacity Allocation Policy (SCAP) as a measure to ensure sustainable and responsible development, requiring major developments to reach certain criteria to obtain building permits.
The impacts of the ICBL and the SCAP criteria were felt immediately by the development community and the message was clear – the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant needed substantially greater capacity, as soon as possible.
The Solution
Upon receiving surprisingly high construction bids for the project, Mayor Yvonne Hamlin assembled the Mayor’s Task Force; a group of individuals from the public sector and development community representing all affected regions. The Task Force undertook open-ending brainstorming sessions evaluating a range of potential solutions, including exploring funding mechanisms, cost-reduction solutions, raising capital, and reviewing the functions of developer cost-share groups. Alongside these efforts, both Collingwood and New Tecumseth were actively pursuing government funding to help support a solution.
In April 2024, New Tecumseth and Collingwood Councils reached an agreement and awarded the Tender to Kenaidan Contracting Ltd., with mutually beneficial terms to share and augment water capacity during construction. The Town of Collingwood has undertaken studies on how to fund the project, and AECOM is expected to deliver the results of a water treatment plant interim capacity feasibility study this fall.
Future Growth in Simcoe County
The implications of the project are significant both regionally and provincially. The water treatment plant expansion project is the largest investment in Collingwood and New Tecumseth’s history, enabling the construction of desperately needed housing and economic development along the over 60 kilometres of watermain running from Collingwood to New Tecumseth. The plant expansion will initially provide water for about 24,000 homes and once the second phase is completed, an additional 36,000 homes. The project completion is estimated to take seven years.
Sharing remarks from the Town of Collingwood’s groundbreaking celebration the following day, CAO Sonya Skinner reiterated the importance of collaboration.
“We did a lot of work with the councils and with the folks that represent us in the various orders of government, with our engineering community and with our development community, all of whom were very innovative, very supportive,” said Skinner.
From left to right: Chris Crozier (Crozier’s CEO), Mayor Yvonne Hamlin (Town of Collingwood), Simcoe-Grey MPP Brian Saunderson, Brittany Robertson (GTDI President)
Guests at GTDI’s Collingwood Water Treatment Expansion Kick-Off
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