Stratford sewage decision will be made within a month

Stratford residents will know within a month how council will choose to deal with town's sewage issues after they learned more details about the options at a public meeting Wednesday night.

Residents also had the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns about those options at the meeting held by town council.

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Derek Smith is one of the residents who wants to see the Town of Stratford build a new sewage plant.

"I think the majority of people suggested that we do maintain our own plant here in Stratford," said Smith, adding he thought 80 to 90 per cent of those who attended the meeting seemed to feel that way.

Building a new plant in Stratford would cost $15.2 million and increase the sewer rate to $472 from $329 by 2019.

The other option — pumping sewage to the Charlottetown Pollution Control plant through a pipe beneath the Hillsborough Bridge — would increase sewer rates to $544 from $329 for a single-family home.

It would cost $8.8 million to deliver the sewage to Charlottetown and an additional $7.5 million to upgrade the plant in Charlottetown.

Smith said while the Charlottetown plant is already in place he believes the cost would go up as the town continues to grow.

"Having a plant built in Stratford means that we have a brand new plant in Stratford that can be expanded if we grow."

Coun. Garry Clow, chair of infrastructure for the town, said council has their work cut out for them when it comes to deciding which option is the best one to make.

Decision in 1 month

"We will be going to the table within the next few weeks. All the information tonight will be brought back to our meeting and we'll go through it and we will eventually have to make a decision on option one or two, which is to keep it in Stratford or ship it to Charlottetown."

Clow said he's heard from many residents who have opinions about both options.

"People want our waterfront back. They say, 'You know if we ship it to Charlottetown then we're going to get our waterfront back and what are we going to be able to do with that.'"

But residents the town will still recover some of the waterfront in either option.

If the sewage plant is kept in Stratford, it would have a very small footprint on the waterfront. The current sewer lagoon would be dismantled and filled in, freeing up green space for possible development. A new plant would be built adjacent to the present lagoons.

If the sewage is sent to Charlottetown, a new lift station would be built in the same location. 

Stratford has prepared requests for proposals for both option with the hope that whichever is chosen will be operational within the next two years.

Clow said residents can expect a decision in the next month. In the meantime, residents can still provide feedback on the issue until Aug. 17.

Information presented at the public meeting can be found on the Town of Stratford's website.

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