It appears residents in the Mountview Waste Water Treatment Plant area will not have to hold their noses for much longer.
It’s been in the works for a long time, but the Mountview sewage treatment plant’s decommissioning is finally coming.
Today, the District released a social media post showing politicians, consultants, and District staff on site. The District Municipality of Muskoka, which manages water and sewer services in Muskoka, noted that it is “replacing aging infrastructure and decommissioning the Mountview Wastewater Treatment Plant to provide long-term health and beautification benefits for Muskoka’s lakes, rivers, and communities.”
While residents have been hearing those promises for years, it appears a construction timeline is now in place.
According to the plan, a new sewage pumping station will be built adjacent to the Mountview Waste Water Treatment Plant, which will pump the sewage to the Golden Pheasant sewage treatment plant on Hwy 60 to be processed. The Golden Pheasant plant will undergo “Infrastructure Improvements,” noted the District, adding, “With special attention to water quality, we are keeping the District of Muskoka healthy and beautiful for future generations while planning for growth opportunities.”
According to the District, construction activity is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2026.
“Service disruptions to water supply and wastewater treatment operations are not anticipated. Residents and visitors may experience some temporary road closures or inconveniences due to construction activity and equipment in the vicinity of the project area,” stated the District.
The wastewater treatment plant at Mountview has been a concern for several years. The plant has exceeded its operational life and it was clear that it had to be replaced. During the spring and summer months the strong odours emanating from the plant generated complaints from Huntsville residents.
Last September, the District approved a contract with Peak Construction Group LLC to construct a new pump station at a cost of about $30.2 million.
You can find more information about the project from the District HERE
– With files from Thomas Goyer
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Three cheers for Brian T. I have worried about that intake for years.
They have been saying this story about closing the Mountview plant for a long time, so long I’m not sure to believe them even yet. With all the heavy equipment on site maybe this time it will be a “real” closure.
Are the necessary pipes in the ground now to pump from here to the Golden Pheasant plant or is there need for a major digging operation for this?
I still wonder the wisdom of having the intake for town water and the outfall for town sewage in the same (Fairy) lake and less than a mile apart but I assume people with more facts and greater wisdom than me have studied this strange set up and feel it is ok. Personally I would have liked to see the intake on Vernon lake or even in Hunter’s bay where it used to be for many years for the old treatment plant. With this set up any catastrophic failure at the sewage plant could not affect the intake water supply no matter what else happened.