Thornbury Wastewater Treatment Plant headworks

Water and Wastewater Servicing Allocation Policy

On this page:
1. Project Updates
2. Staff Reports & Council Decisions
3. Frequently Asked Questions

Since 2020, the Town of The Blue Mountains has been experiencing rapid growth which imposes pressure on the Town's water and wastewater treatment, conveyance and capacity systems. Staff are continually monitoring capacity of these systems and ensuring that capital planning is inclusive of projected growth.

Coupled with prudent infrastructure planning, the Town utilizes a number of regulatory instruments to mitigate risk as it relates to development approvals and servicing capacity. Currently, the Town does have a suite of tools to manage constraints be it through the Official Plan, Zoning By-law and Development Agreements.

However, an opportunity has been identified to provide further policy guidance on managing the allocation of servicing capacity for new developments. Many communities - including Collingwood, Uxbridge and New Tecumseh - have had success instituting Water and Wastewater Allocation Policies to inform this process.

Why Now?
The Year-End Water and Wastewater Capacity Assessment has identified constraints facing both the treatment facilities and conveyance systems in the Town. While the Town has capital projects either in the design or construction stages, the rate of growth in the community has been outpacing the completion of these projects.
The Town wants to ensure that existing water and wastewater system capacity is allocated in a sustainable and strategic manner based on key community priorities.

Project Updates

December 10, 2024 - Latest Draft Staff Report Presented

Staff Report PDS.24.148 was presented at a Special Meeting of Council on December 6, 2024, where Council directed staff to prepare a subsequent report with additional revisions to the Allocation Policy Bylaw. This report is expected to be presented at a future Committee of the Whole meeting and will be made available once released in an agenda package.

View Staff Reports

Staff Report PDS.24.122 has been released on the Committee of the Whole agenda for Tuesday, September 17. The report is being provided in response to Council's direction on August 27 which asked staff to provide the development industry with more time to review the draft policy. For ongoing updates on Council direction regarding this report, please view the Staff Reports section on this page.
View Staff Reports
Staff Report PDS.24.081 has been released on the Committee of the Whole agenda for Tuesday, August 27. The report serves as a follow-up to the Public Meeting held on May 14, 2024, and requests direction from Council to enact a by-law to implement the Water and Sewage Allocation Policy. For ongoing updates on Council direction regarding this report, please view the Staff Reports section on this page.
View Staff Reports

Staff Reports & Council Decisions

Staff Report PDS.24.148 was presented at a Special Meeting of Council on December 6, 2024, which was scheduled to consider items not addressed in the December 2, 2024, meeting. The report provides a follow-up to PDS.24.143 and expands the definition of “Development agreement” to include Development Charge Credit Agreements. Council directed staff to prepare a subsequent report with additional revisions to the Allocation Policy Bylaw, including but not limited to consideration of development charge front-ending and credit agreements. This report will be presented at a future Committee of the Whole meeting and will be made available once released in an agenda package.
The presentation begins at the 00:10:08 mark of the meeting recording.
View Meeting Recording
Staff Report PDS.24.143 was presented to Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, November 19. The report was put together following correspondence received from Great Gulf and Goodmans LLP. Upon review of the correspondence with the Town's solicitor, a revision has been suggested to the proposed by-law. The report recommended that Council enact the revised by-law, and review it 18 months after enactment to evaluate further possible revisions. Committee crafted a new motion directing staff to incorporate recent questions and comments for revision and to consider the By-law at the December 2, 2024 Council meeting.
Presentation of the report begins at 6:36:40 mark of the Committee meeting recording.
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Staff Report PDS.24.122 was presented to Committee of the Whole on September 17, 2024. The report was prepared to provide additional information regarding the proposed Servicing Allocation Policy, and requested direction from Council to enact a by-law to implement the Water and Sewage Allocation Policy. Committee voted in favour of the staff recommendations, while adjusting the timeline for review of the policy from 18 months to 24 months after implementation, and adding a motion directing staff to bring forward a monitoring program to ensure developers are delivering on the elements of their agreements that are being used to rank their proposals.
Presentation of the Staff Report begins at the 6:04:10 mark of the Committee meeting recording.
View Committee Meeting Recording
Council pulled the report and Committee motion for further discussion at their meeting on September 30, 2024. Following some discussion, a motion was made to defer consideration of the Water and Wastewater Allocation By-law until Council has received a legal opinion on the correspondence from Goodmans, Barrister and Solicitor, received at the September 30 Council Meeting in the deputation from Kathleen Schofield, President Low Rise Residential, Great Gulf. This motion was voted on and passed by Council.
Review of the report begins at the 7:13:50 mark of the Council meeting recording.
View Council Meeting Recording
Staff Report PDS.24.081 was presented to Committee of the Whole on August 27, 2024. The report served as a follow-up to the Public Meeting held on May 14, 2024, and requested direction from Council to enact a by-law to implement the Water and Sewage Allocation Policy. The report included a summary of the comments heard at the Public Meeting, along with meeting minutes of two engagement sessions held with the Georgian Triangle Development Institute, and a draft version of the by-law and framework. Committee voted against the staff recommendations, and proceeded to direct staff to bring the report back to the September 17, 2024 Committee of the Whole meeting to allow the development industry more time to review the draft policy.
Presentation of the Staff Report begins at the 1:42:50 mark of the Committee meeting recording. This decision is scheduled to be considered by Council at their meeting on Monday, September 9.
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Staff Report PDS.23.131 was presented to Committee of the Whole on November 28, 2023. The report requested council direction to proceed with holding a Public Meeting to receive comments and feedback from the public on the development of a Water and Wastewater Allocation Policy. The motion was passed by Committee of the Whole in a vote of 6-0. This motion was adopted by Council at their meeting on December 18, 2023.
Presentation of the Staff Report begins at the 4:08:30 mark of the meeting recording.
View Meeting Recording

Frequently Asked Questions

The Town has procured WSP Global Inc. to facilitate the delivery of a Water and Wastewater Allocation Policy. In addition to the drafting the Policy, the consultant's scope of work includes:
- Conducting a best practice review and identifying implementation options
- Creation of an evaluation framework for review of allocation requests
- Engagement with the development industry
The Town is currently undertaking multiple projects that will see increases to the water and sewer capacity. These include the Thornbury Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion and Outfall Construction, Mill Street Sewage Pumping Station Upgrades, Bay Street East Reconstruction, Craigleith Lift Station Upgrades, Craigleith Wastewater Treatment Plant Pumping Station Construction, Arrowhead Water Booster Station Upgrades, East Side Water Storage Environmental Assessment and Town-Wide Wastewater Master Plan Environmental Assessment. These projects are all at various stages of design, engineering and construction.
View Municipal Infrastructure Projects