To the Editor,

There were some factual errors in last week’s reporting on the County’s enormously expensive expansion plans for our water treatment system (The theme is growth at Picton waterworks open house, The Picton Gazette, Aug. 10, 2023).

This is the largest capital project that Prince Edward County has ever undertaken. First off, the costs for our water treatment and sewage system are shared across all users across the County, Picton pays for the Wellington components just as Wellington pays for Picton. Nobody was suggesting that the costs are not shared equally.

So if Wellington proceeds to spend $100 million on its plant and pipelines that cost is shared across all water users including those in Picton, Bloomfield, etc., if the pipelines expand out to Bloomfield and Picton at a further estimated cost of approx. $50 million then that too becomes a shared cost.  The County firmly believes that 80 per cent of this total cost can be borne by up-front development charges from residential builders and commercial/retail projects, but only time will tell if this will work out in practice.

Already in Wellington the projections are looking wildly optimistic.  The primary landholder with development plans approved is showing no signs that they are ready to proceed, and yet the County anticipates almost 3000 new residents in the next six years,  more than doubling Wellington’s current population, even though there is not a shovel in sight.

These same projections call for commercial development significantly greater than Belleville’s Quinte Mall, right here in Wellington!  Clearly if the residential development falters then the commercial side will not happen.  This exposes users of the system right across the County to considerable risk.  True that in Picton there are new housing developments and projects on the books, some will happen, others may fall by the wayside. So the big question is whether these will be enough to generate around $120 million in development charges.

If they do then users will be on the hook for the remaining $30 million, in itself a tidy sum of money, and this to come from all County water users (currently around 6,000). BUT if their projections turn out to be overly optimistic and building falls short the picture could be grim for the County and for everyone of us on the system.  It’s a very big gamble.

The Wellington contingent is requesting that Council Press Pause now to take a good hard look at these numbers and do so in an open manner, rather than merrily pushing onward with a project that will have enormous consequences for its current and future residents.

Kevin Hanbury

Wellington