MAXVILLE, Ontario – Representatives from municipal, provincial and federal levels of government met at the Maxville Sports Complex on Friday, May 26 to announce a $30 million project for the home of the Highland Games.
They announced that Maxville will finally be getting a sustainable source of water.
“I was worried at times that this thing might never come,” said North Glengarry Mayor Chris McDonell. “The problems with the ground water in Maxville were first identified back in the 1930s and Councils have been trying to find a solution ever since.”
The $30 million will go towards 2 projects, one in Maxville and one in Alexandria to expand the Alexandria Lagoon.
The goal of the Maxville project will be to find a source of water in a nearby community and build an underground pipeline to ship that water to a new water tower in Maxville.
The water tower will be located just south of the town, next to the Maxville Veterinary Clinic.
“If I could sing and dance I would sing and dance,” said North Glengarry Councillor Carma Williams.
Williams explained that the Township hoped to breakground on the project this summer, but that all parties involved had to work fast in order to make that happen.
Besides the work tenders that will have to be drawn up, bidded on and awarded, there will also have to be an Environmental Assessment done to identify the best future source of water for Maxville.
There are currently three options. The first is to get water from Nation that is currently collected there from Alfred-Plantagenet. The second choice would be nearby Alexandria and the third would be to get water from somewhere in North Stormont.
Previously, there had be a plan to ship water from Cornwall to Maxville, through South Glengarry via a pipeline. However, that project would have cost $64 million. That project had been pending for years, and because of its uncertain nature, held up other infrastructure work along the potential route of the pipeline.
For example, the sidewalks and main street of Martintown have not been resurfaced for fear that they would be torn up for the pipeline. Now that the pipeline will be going through another route, South Glengarry Mayor Ian McLeod said that roadwork in Martintown could proceed as early as this summer or fall.
“Investing in water and wastewater treatment infrastructure is essential to maintaining a healthy environment and providing access to clean, reliable drinking water,” said Francis Drouin, MP for Glengarry – Prescott – Russell in a statement. “The Government of Canada is working with provinces, territories and municipalities across the country to support important projects like those in North Glengarry to ensure that Canadian communities are healthy and sustainable now and for years to come.”
