The District of Muskoka is receiving $8.3 million from the province to help fund water and wastewater capital projects across the region.
During the Feb. 17 council meeting, James Steele, commissioner of engineering and public works, presented a report detailing that the funding will enable the District to implement a coordinated, District-wide program of infrastructure upgrades focused on standby power resiliency for critical water and wastewater assets.
“In recent years, Muskoka has experienced an increase in severe weather events and prolonged power outages, which have exposed vulnerabilities in aging standby power infrastructure and, in some cases, the absence of permanent backup power at key facilities,” said the report.
The report states during these events, District operations staff have been required to deploy portable generators under hazardous conditions to maintain essential services, with several documented incidents of generator failure, near overflows, and service disruption.
Following the severe weather events in 2024 and 2025, the District retained a consultant to review its emergency responses. The review recommended developing a standby power plan for District facilities.
To fund the recommended changes, the District applied for the Health and Safety Water Stream through the Province’s Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program.
According to the report, the total costs of the suite of projects eligible under the program are $11.4 million. The province’s funding will cover 73 per cent ($8.3M) of total eligible costs, with the remaining $3.1 to be funded by the District through water and wastewater rate-supported capital budgets.
Recommended projects include the installation of approximately 25 new permanent standby generators at wastewater pumping stations, the replacement of approximately eight aging generators at treatment plants and reservoirs, and targeted wet well capacity upgrades at up to seven locations.
“These assets were prioritized based on operational risk, service population, history of power-related disruptions, and exposure to extreme weather,” reads the report.
Under the funding agreement with the province, the District must utilize the funds by March 31, 2029.
Staff will prepare a report providing specifics on each project and present it to council at a future meeting.
