The water treatment plant in Wheatley that has been shut down for nearly a year following a fire won't be functional for another year.
Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission (CK PUC) General Manager Darren Galbraith broke the news to the commissioners at their meeting on Thursday afternoon, saying the plant won't be back up and fully running until August 2025, five months later than initially anticipated.
CK PUC officials said a year ago that the plant would be down for a year or more because a new pump would take 12-18 months to arrive.
The fire broke out on September 13, 2023 in the plant's generator room during regular maintenance and significantly damaged the pump, the compressors, and electrical wires, which must be replaced, along with several other critical plant components that were damaged in the blaze.
The news is not all bad, though. Galbraith noted the water pressure in the Wheatley water distribution system, that serves Tilbury as well, has returned to normal and the water plant in Leamington is on standby in case more water is needed when local food processors start their processing in the coming months.
"Due to their higher pressure, Leamington would be able to assist when water demands increase or if we have a process failure, as long as Leamington can provide the water. We're paying close attention to the water demands as we approach the need for more water due to the needs for local food processors in the coming months," said Galbraith.
Temporary water trailers are doing the job right now while the Wheatley plant is down.
Galbraith noted the recent above normal wet weather has also helped the system by reducing water demand.
The rehabilitation tender for the water plant to reinstall the equipment will be going out for bidding on August 12, 2024 and will close two weeks later, according to Galbraith.
The fire will cost CK PUC an extra $351,000 a year in insurance premiums, but there's a chance CK PUC will be reimbursed if the fire was someone else's fault.
"If it [the fire] was caused by a different faction outside of the PUC, I'm sure litigation is going to pursue it and those damages would probably be collected as well," the CK PUC GM said.
The CK PUC was told in May 2024 that a total of $1.55 million has been spent so far rehabilitating the plant.