Heather Latter
The first phase of the improvements to the Township of Emo’s water and wastewater systems are nearly complete.
“They are about a week behind schedule,” noted Emo Mayor Vince Sheppard.
“It will probably be [done] the third week in December, as long as there aren’t any problems,” he said.
Mayor Sheppard conceded a few small issues had arisen since the work began in September, but that “it is common with digging and putting pipes in.”
“It’s going pretty good,” he remarked, stressing the work, which temporarily has closed some roads in the community, should not affect “Holly Daze” festivities in any way.
The “Holly Daze” Christmas parade, set for Friday starting at 6 p.m., still is expected to follow its usual route—starting at Donald Young School and ending at the Golden Age Manor.
The township received $2 million from the provincial government for the improvements this past summer, which certainly helped to fund the planned upgrade, which is close to $6 million.
Emo Coun. Anthony Leek had explained back in August that the township’s distribution line was in need of replacing and that work needed to be done to provide a better water flow throughout the community.
“The system that was set up 40 some odd years ago just isn’t meeting the needs of today’s citizens because the old iron ductile line,” he explained.
“It used to be a six-inch line and now it’s a three-inch line because of the rust inside the lines.
“And we noticed with the amount of dead ends we had, with water hitting dead ends, we are not having a consistent flow throughout the town,” Coun. Leek added.
“We also found there are some serious safety concerns and issues that need to be attended to.”
The first phase of the project has been replacing the distribution line.
Upgrades to the water treatment plant, and expansion of the current lagoon system, is the second phase.
“In order to maintain the standard we are providing in the town, and hopefully providing better pressures and better flows for any future expansion and for current housing . . . we’ve really been able to approach the project by getting to the core of the issue,” Coun. Leek noted.
Mayor Sheppard stressed the water upgrades are to improve the flow throughout the village.
“A lot of people think that it’s just for the subdivision but it’s not—it’s for the whole town,” he said.
“It’s being looped so the town has good flows.
“They are going to be drilling under the tracks in the west [end] to make sure that line is in and then, hopefully, we will cap it for now and as we get funding, we can maybe get local contractors to do the digging part of it,” Mayor Sheppard explained.
“We’re trying to get funding for up Front Street to the hospital,” he noted. “So we can get the water flowing around the hospital so you are never without water.”
Mayor Sheppard said it would allow for water to be shut off on one side of town but still have water on the other side.
