Amherstburg Town Council has approved $167,700 in extra spending to keep the community’s wastewater treatment running smoothly. The money, taken from the town’s Wastewater Reserve, will fix degraded electrical cables at the treatment plant and improve remote monitoring at sanitary pump stations. The decision was made during the May 25, 2026 council meeting.
Most of the funds—$165,000—will go toward replacing and moving aboveground the underground electrical feed cables for the ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system. These cables have worn down over time, causing ongoing reliability issues that could put system performance and environmental protection at risk. The project was not in the original budget and is considered an unbudgeted expense.
The other $2,700 will cover increased costs for adding SCADA integration at sanitary pump stations. SCADA, which stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, lets operators keep an eye on equipment remotely and make the whole system run more efficiently. The town had planned to roll this out in phases, but updated cost estimates from the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) came in higher than expected. OCWA operates the town’s water and wastewater facilities.
Both expenses are being covered by the Wastewater Reserve, so residents won’t see a tax increase from these specific projects. The UV disinfection system has been in place since around 2013, when Amherstburg consolidated three older treatment plants into one modern facility. Keeping it in good shape is essential for treating the town’s sewage safely before it goes back into the environment.
The Amherstburg Town Council includes Mayor Michael Prue, Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb, and Councillors Molly Allaire, Peter Courtney, Linden Crain, Donald McArthur, and Diane Pouget. The town’s Engineering and Public Works Department oversees the sewage collection system in cooperation with OCWA.
