By Mark Squibb
Infrastructure lead councillor Steve Winsor provided updates earlier this year on a number of big projects Holyrood council is managing this year.
Among them, the town has hired Greatario Engineering Storage Systems to complete a geotechnical assessment to determine the foundation design necessary for a new water tank.
“As you can imagine, a full tank of water is very heavy, and we want to protect that investment for the long term,” said Winsor. “So, that contract is drafted and we’ve secured funding from gas tax to cover those costs. Once they complete that design we’ll begin actual installation. Now, the cost of the project, overall, as you’re probably imagining, has increased, especially the tank and the installation. But the Town is working very hard for funding mechanisms to complete the project as originally planned with a minimal impact to taxpayers in Holyrood.”
Civil work near George Cove Mountain was completed back in 2024 in anticipation of the new 500,000-gallon water tank.
Work is also ongoing to secure an emergency water supply, which council hopes will reduce the number of water bans implemented during the dry season.
“A lot of work has been done in this area,” said Winsor. “We’ve studied it and engaged multiple engineering consultants. Currently, we’re investigating another well as an option for another water source without mixing surface water, which would complicate matters and lead to dramatically higher costs.”
Winsor said engineering consultant CBCL, which specializes in water sources, has conducted a well test on Tank Road, which is near the water tank. That nearness should, he added, result in cost savings. Council should have a complete report within the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, work on the replacement of the old septic system responsible for an off-putting odour around town is progressing, though slowly.
“Replacing that is going to be a lot more complicated than we had expected, and it’s going to be more expensive than expected,” said Winsor. “Schedule wise, what’s driving a lot of that is the environmental regulations.”
Winsor said the wait for environmental approvals is not a problem limited to Holyrood.
“As I understand it, the Province is having a hard time approving environmental permits in a timely fashion across the province,” said Winsor. “It’s not just Holyrood.”
Council is also seeking funding for a new outfall with a larger capacity.
“It’s a long time coming, but it’s so important to get it done right,” said Winsor. “We got the right players involved and, I must say I was impressed with the engineering design consultant (Innovative Engineering). A little bit of an adlib here now, but they’ve done their homework. The lead engineer has done an excellent job.”
Mayor Laura Crawley and councillor Charlotte Story also praised the engineers at Innovative.
“It is a very complicated process, and it is a very old system,” said Crawley. “I think we’re more behind than we even thought going into it. So, it’s going to take a little bit more effort than we originally thought. But it’s working.”
Plans for a new community centre, which was first approved in 2023, are also ongoing.
Winsor said council would be meeting soon with the consultant and following council’s review of the initial concept, residents will be able to provide feedback as well.
“Once we have a set design and a design freeze in place, we’ll begin the process of securing funding and hopefully get started in 2027 with an actual build,” said Winsor.
Council accepted $908,000 in government funding back in 2024 to help offset the construction cost.
