12-09-2025, 07:30 PM
This is only coming up because the Region is currently updating the Water Supply Master Plan. It's always been known in the civil engineering world that we'd hit this point it's just happening sooner then previous projections and now it's becoming public, it's not like there is going to be water brown outs.
The Region already owns a few wells that aren't even turned on. It's a matter of getting a couple PTTWs from MECP and then turning them on.
The Region also has capacity through the ground water storage aquifer (ASR) they have where they'll effectively pump water in the winter and store it underground for use in the summer. It works thanks to an aquitard layer in the soil stratigraphy preventing the infiltration into the aquifer.
Existing systems at max capacity can supply 250 MLD, with ASR phase 1 and 2 it can increase the supply to 293 MLD. With a couple system efficiencies and the Waterloo North TP it increases to 320 MLD (most of these are done). Then with increases in G4 and Phase 1 Maple Grove you get 327 and with Phase 2 Maple Grove you get 344 MLD. The estimate for 2050 is around 200 MLD which shows there's capacity.
If you're at average pumping and not max your 2050 value drops to 243 MLD with all of those projects implemented. Even then that is still enough with a 20% surplus. The Region hasn't grown 20% more than expected, yes it's percentage points higher but not 20%.
With the surplus of growth it does mean more supply is needed but that was always expected, a pipe to Lake Erie was always in the plan post 2050, it may just be brought to post 2040 now instead, or earlier given the scale of construction required.
The Region already owns a few wells that aren't even turned on. It's a matter of getting a couple PTTWs from MECP and then turning them on.
The Region also has capacity through the ground water storage aquifer (ASR) they have where they'll effectively pump water in the winter and store it underground for use in the summer. It works thanks to an aquitard layer in the soil stratigraphy preventing the infiltration into the aquifer.
Existing systems at max capacity can supply 250 MLD, with ASR phase 1 and 2 it can increase the supply to 293 MLD. With a couple system efficiencies and the Waterloo North TP it increases to 320 MLD (most of these are done). Then with increases in G4 and Phase 1 Maple Grove you get 327 and with Phase 2 Maple Grove you get 344 MLD. The estimate for 2050 is around 200 MLD which shows there's capacity.
If you're at average pumping and not max your 2050 value drops to 243 MLD with all of those projects implemented. Even then that is still enough with a 20% surplus. The Region hasn't grown 20% more than expected, yes it's percentage points higher but not 20%.
With the surplus of growth it does mean more supply is needed but that was always expected, a pipe to Lake Erie was always in the plan post 2050, it may just be brought to post 2040 now instead, or earlier given the scale of construction required.