Selwyn Township will be receiving $1.378M from the province of Ontario to upgrade the water and wastewater system along George Street in Lakefield.
MPP Dave Smith made the announcement on Friday Feb 27 at the Municipal office with Selwyn Mayor and council present.
The funding is part of the province’s Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program’s Health and Safety Water Stream (MHIP-HSWS) to support access to safe drinking water, housing, job creation and protection for communities in the event of extreme weather events.
According to a press release that went out after the announcement, the MHIP-HSWS funding will be used in the Village of Lakefield to rehabilitate the George Street watermain and trunk sewer. The project will upgrade key drinking water and wastewater infrastructures to improve capacity, reliability, and long-term performance. The project includes installing new sanitary sewers to support future housing growth and replacing a section of aging watermain to increase water flow, improve fire protection, and strengthen system reliability. Construction is anticipated to begin in spring 2026 and will include excavation, pipe replacement, service reconnections, and full roadway restoration to ensure safe, dependable water and wastewater services for the community.
The systems that are set to be rehabilitated are in some cases over 70 years old with the wastewater system being installed in the early 1970s and the water system installed in the late 1950s.
Smith said, “We see it all across Ontario. A lot of this infrastructure was put in shortly after the war, so we’re talking about pipes that are 70, sometimes 80 and even 90 years old. And they do have a limited lifespan when we do these kinds of types of upgrades. We’re talking about changing that piping that has done a great job for us, but you’re thinking ahead. You want to make sure that you’re making those replacements. You do those upgrades before you get into a crisis situation, and that’s the case here with Selwyn with this much money to do water, waste water, storm sewer systems. As I said, it is about $1.4 million from the province for it, and this offloads some of those challenges then for the council.”
He continued, “When we look at Selwyn, a one percent, increase in property taxes is something that people will complain about. But, one percent doesn’t pay the bills on this infrastructure. It’s things that have been in the ground for a very long time. But we’re probably looking at realistically about a six or seven percent property tax increase just for this one section. And by partnering with the province, we can offload that, so that’s an increase that you do not have to look after [through taxes].”
Senis also stated during the announcement, “What matters the most, in this project to the community, is reliable water and wastewater infrastructure. It’s the foundation of public health, safety, and everyday life in Lakefield. The project strengthens Lakefield’s core infrastructure by relieving system pressures and preparing the village for future growth, including new housing in the Lakefield South subdivision. It ensures we can grow responsibly without compromising service for the residents who already call Lakefield home. By addressing a critical bottleneck along George Street, these upgrades improve water flow, enhance fire protection, and increase reliability, especially during maintenance or emergency situations. For residents and businesses, this investment means dependable services today and resilient infrastructure for the future.”
She told media that the part the water main set to be replaced is small in diameter, about 150 millimeters, which will be replaced with a larger 330 millimeters watermain.
“So that is something that’s going to be a positive for the people who are now living there and for future development.”
Smith said that this rehabilitation of Lakefield’s water infrastructure is coming at the right time, before an emergency situation happens and makes repairs more expensive and dangerous.
“The worst case scenario is that we have a water main break, or we have a sewage system break, and then it’s an emergency. It becomes a much more expensive proposition that way. Selwyn Township has identified this as something that needs to be upgraded to serve a new subdivision that is in development but it also means that we’re ensuring that you have that stability again in the system. You know that you’re going to have safe water. You know that you’re going to have a working toilet when the time comes and kudos to them (the township) for recognizing that it’s time now to take a look at upgrading that and ensuring that you have a high quality system for the residents of Lakefield .”
Smith also said during the announcement that the government has put a stipulation into the funding agreement that communities should be using local contractors where possible. The work being done should be through Ontario or Canadian companies where possible.
Selwyn Township does have their own policy in place when going through Request for Proposals and Tender analysis to ensure not only that they look at local companies to complete the work needed to be done but also consider environmental impacts of those companies and tender results as well.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $1,888,362.50 with the province providing $1,378,504 for the rehabilitation of Lakefield’s water infrastructure.
