A new faucet

County updates water and wastewater allocation rules

With limited capacity remaining in its water and wastewater systems, the County is moving to tighten the rules for assigning servicing capacity to new projects.

The new rules would regulate who gets access to the waterworks system. It would define conditions and requirements for approval. And perhaps most importantly, the new policy will define clear tools to compel the return of allocation in the waterworks system back to the municipality.

The policy review was prompted by the situation in Wellington. In 2021 and 2022, Shire Hall agreed to grant one developer (originally two) the remaining capacity in the village waterworks system (about 350 homes). It did so, believing the developer would begin building homes soon. It did so, too, because the developer put up $12 million to fund a portion of the infrastructure needed to bring its subdivision onto the municipal water system.

But nearly five years later, the developer isn’t building homes in Wellington. No one is. Because no one can. The developer controls the remaining capacity in the water and wastewater system. Not a single home has been built in Wellington for two years.

It is an untenable situation. In recent months, Shire Hall has moved to ensure such a thing doesn’t happen again. It has vowed to be more proactive in who gets waterworks access. When? And under what terms?

Thus, the makeover of the County’s waterworks allocation policy, EV800. It came under review by a committee of council last week.

“The remaining allocation should be carefully planned and allocated,” explained Cristal Laanstra, Director of Development Services. “Based on that approach, the document is forward- looking. This would be utilized for new agreements and new servicing allocation we are dealing with, not backwards to capacity already allocated.”

One notable change is a proposed expiration clause that would revoke a development’s allocated capacity if it does not proceed within three years.

“This ensures that capacity is not tied up indefinitely and can be reallocated to projects that are ready to proceed,” said Laanstra.

Another new feature would introduce a prioritization framework, giving preference to applications with affordable housing components or projects where developers agree to front-end infrastructure upgrades. Staff are also recommending a publicly accessible capacity allocation register to track available capacity and assigned capacity.

Shire Hall staff cautioned that not everyone will welcome the new rules.

“Some developers and members of the public may not favour the expiration clause or the prioritization provisions,” Laanstra wrote in her report to the committee.

COMMUNITY CONCERNS
Dorothy Bothwell raised concerns about how much authority council would actually retain under the revised policy.

Bothwell pointed to the current process where council oversees a subdivision planning process to the draft plan stage. After that, the process is managed exclusively between the proponent and municipal staff. She warned that this could leave council’s hands tied.

“Where the policy provides for servicing allocation to be removed or adjusted, there is no language to adjust or refund applicable development charges for Wellington developments. That gap could impact current and future projects and doesn’t protect the County’s interest,” urged Bothwell.

Once adopted, likely in the new year, the new waterworks allocation rules will guide all future servicing capacity decisions — though some community members, like Bothwell, are calling for further review to close gaps and ensure Council retains proper oversight.