A major upswell of groundwater is causing a significant disruption to the Wellington Trunk Project and Sanitary Pumping Station, per the Development Services Department’s first quarter report.

Managing the flood is putting pressure on the project’s budget and timeline.

The groundwater was discovered in the bedrock of the Millennium Trail during construction in spring  2025 and winter 2026, reported Cristal Laanstra, Director of Development Services.

“Obviously someone didn’t know, so can you name the consulting firm that did the detailed design, if you know —are they perhaps faulty for not figuring this out in advance?” Councillor Hirsch asked. 

Manager of Engineering David MacPherson confirmed that the geotechnical study was done by Cambium. Its bore holes throughout the trail did not detect the presence of this level of groundwater. 

“What we encountered when we were digging through the rock was an excess of water that wasn’t part of the geotech investigation,” Mr. MacPherson said. 

“It could be an aquifer. We definitely encountered a large amount of water at once. It wasn’t in the drought year, we encountered this water in December ’25, and have been fighting it ever since.”

“I rest my case. Consulting engineers are not my friends,” Councillor Hirsch concluded.

Both projects are still expected to be completed by mid-summer. At that point, staff will work with the Millennium Trail Committee to conduct public consultations on proposed trail rehabilitation plans.

The Development Report

The Development Services report covers its four divisions: planning, engineering, building, and geographic information systems (GIS). 

Recent studies include the Cultural Heritage Master Plan and Updated Population Growth Forecasts for Infrastructure Planning.

Staff are now reviewing bids for the Employment Lands Study and plan to award it in the second quarter, but Councillor Brad Nieman wondered why this had not been done already. Increasing industrial and commercial land use is a County priority. 

“This is what we’ve been asking for, for, I think, two or three years,” Councillor Nieman said. “That’s what these investors are looking for: land ready.”

Ms. Laanstra noted the study moved between different departments before landing with Development Services. 

“We are looking forward to running this study,” said Ms. Laanstra. “We have already gone through the procurement process and we are reviewing those, getting ready to award it.”

The planning division is implementing recommendations from a Service Delivery Review by the Perry Group. These include creating standard operating procedures and updating public documents to provide more clarity in the planning process. 

Councillor Phil St-Jean suggested that staff look at Middlesex County as a model for the site plan approval process. 

“Site plan, getting something approved, is as long as two years,” he said. “There may be a better way that is more efficient.”

Ms. Laanstra noted that the Manager of Planning is formulating standard operating procedures for site plan approval.