Essex to apply to Health and Safety Water Stream fund for Harrow Pumping Station upgrades

By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

Council for the Town of Essex directed Administration to make an application to the Health and Safety Water Stream fund for the design and construction of upgrades to the Harrow Raw Sewage Pumping Station.

In doing so, the post-budget approval of $115,000 for the Harrow Lagoon Pumping Station Upgrades capital project was approved to be funded fully from the Development Charges Reserve, if the application is successful in garnering a grant.

Director of Infrastructure Services, Kevin Girard, explained the Health and Safety Water Stream is a $175M provincial funding opportunity through the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program. Municipalities and First Nations are able to apply to it to build, expand, or rehabilitate aging water, wastewater, stormwater, flood, and erosion infrastructure.

He added projects under this fund will help preserve the current housing supply and protect communities during extreme weather events, such as the one experienced locally in August of 2023.

In the 2025 Budget, Essex Council approved $290,000 for pump upgrades to the Harrow Raw Sewage Pumping Station.

“This project was initiated to address additional sewage capacity needs for the redevelopment of the Harrow High School property, as well as providing additional wet weather capacity in the Harrow Sanitary Collection System,” Girard said.

After working with the contractor, however, he noted it was discovered the pumps could not be upgraded to an adequate size for both matters without significant electrical upgrades.

The report to Council adds successful projects through this fund will be cost-shared between the applicants and the province. The province would fund a maximum of 73% (up to $30M) of eligible project costs, and the applicant would be required to fund all the remaining project costs.

With this funding opportunity, the Town can apply for the necessary pumping station upgrades for an additional $115,000 above the $290,000 already set aside for the project. That would bring the total cost for the Town to $405,000 to accommodate future growth and reduce the risk of basement flooding in Harrow, assuming the maximum allowable amount is granted.

In consultation with the engineer of record on the sanitary system and the engineer who completed the modelling analysis of the Harrow Sanitary Collection System, Stantec Consulting, the estimated cost of the necessary upgrades to the Harrow Raw Sewage Pumping Station is approximately $1,500,000 including engineering design and contingency, the Report to Council details.

Mayor Sherry Bondy hopes Essex will be successful in getting this grant.

In answering Councillor Kate McGuire-Blais’s question on budgeting if successful, Girard noted admin anticipates it will come out of the 2026 Budget as that is the aim to start the work. The intention would be to complete the construction over the 2026 and 2027 budget years.