The Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission (CK PUC) is reporting that two temporary mobile water treatment plants are being ordered for Wheatley to treat the water while the Wheatley Water Treatment Plant is down due to a fire two months ago.
CK PUC General Manager Tim Sunderland said the new mobile plants come on a flat bed truck and should be operational in late December or early January.
Sunderland said the two flat beds will be set up outside the plant while crews fully restore the Wheatley Water Treatment Plant which caught fire September 13, 2023 after a blaze broke out in the generator room during regular maintenance.
Sunderland said in the meantime, water is still being supplied to the Wheatley and Tilbury systems through the interconnects with Leamington and the South Water Treatment Plant in Chatham-Kent.
Sunderland said a new diesel pump has also been ordered to supply water from the reservoir at the plant in Wheatley into the distribution system.
"The work we are doing now is for temporary treatment and we're working towards trying to get temporary treatment on-site that we're able to make water on the site to supply water from that site and not use the interconnects so much in the future," said Sunderland.
Sunderland said the plant cleaning and equipment replacement and repair continues.
"We've removed some of the pumping motors from the plant and they've been inspected and repaired. There's equipment being identified as repair or replacement by the experts that are on-site," Sunderland said.
Sunderland said the 12-18 month timeline to get the Wheatley Water Treatment Plant fully operational stands and it should be fully restored by late 2024 or early 2025.
Bulk water hauling hasn't been done for about three weeks, according to Sunderland.
He also said temporary Hydro was restored at the plant on October 31, 2023.
Sunderland is also asking residents to conserve water as much as they can to help with the rebuilding process.
