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Brighton council has OK’d a $50-million-plus contract for a new mechanical wastewater treatment plant.
A recommendation to approve the contract to North America Construction (1993) Ltd. in the amount of $50,122,781 went before council on Monday, July 21, 2025, and after a lengthy discussion, council backed the recommendation.
While some of council still had questions as staff delivered their latest report on the project and consultants J.L. Richards also weighed in, a motion to push a decision to a future meeting (and possibly a special council meeting), which also directed staff to “evaluate questions concerning the engineering firm’s recommendation” by Coun. Anne Butwell was ultimately defeated Monday night.
Some expressed concerns over whether a potential delay again in the project could lead to repercussions such as additional fines, as just one example.
As part of council’s approval, staff still has to return to the council table with a long-term borrowing strategy for the balance of the project before the 2026 budget process.
According to municipal staff, the project will be funded through a combination of grants, development charges, external borrowing, and municipal reserves. As previously reported, the province is chipping in nearly $35 million in support of the project through its Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund. This historic investment was announced at the start of this year.
As previously reported, in the words of officials, the new plant is supposed to help Brighton tackle long-standing issues with its aging lagoon-based treatment system and exceedances when it comes to meeting effluent quality standards, while also helping with construction of up to 3,000 new homes.
Once the project starts, work will still take about three years to complete, according to staff.
MBC will have more to come on this story.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
