The Ontario government is investing nearly $35 million to support the phase 1 expansion and rehabilitation of the Innisfil Lakeshore Wastewater Treatment Plant, a key step towards unlocking the construction of 10,730 new homes for the community just south of Barrie.
The funding is being delivered through the first round of investments under the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, which includes $970 million to help municipalities develop, repair, rehabilitate and expand drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
In Innisfil, the funding will upgrade the existing wastewater treatment plant from an extended aeration system to a biological nutrient removal (BNR) process. The BNR system for biological phosphorus removal will use the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2O) process.
“By investing in critical water infrastructure, we are not only protecting Lake Simcoe but also ensuring the Canadian dream of home ownership right here in Innisfil,” announced Andrea Khanjin, MPP for Barrie–Innisfil.
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Hatch, retained by InnServices Utilities on behalf of the Town of Innisfil, has overseen construction on the upgrades in spring 2025. The work is expected to increase plant capacity from 17,000 m³ per day in the first phase of the expansion, with provisions to grow to 40,000 m³ per day to meet growing service demands.
“This process change is essential to meet the total phosphorus effluent criteria required for discharge into Lake Simcoe,” Hatch announced about the BNR upgrade, which it notes may be one of the first large-scale implementations in Canada.
Other upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant include a new headworks building with mechanical fine screens and vortex grit removal, primary clarification, secondary clarification, tertiary membrane filtration, an ultraviolet disinfection system, and sludge management.
Hatch completed the design, coordinating permits and approvals, tendering the project, and managing post-tender changes with the contractor and client. It also led an engagement process with Curve Lake First Nation to ensure Aboriginal and Treaty Rights were respected.
Ontario is also allocating an additional $250 million and accepting a second round of applications through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, bringing Ontario’s total investment in the fund to $1.2 billion. In this year’s budget, Ontario announced more than $1.8 billion in housing-enabling infrastructure funding through the $825 million Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and the $1 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, in addition to funding announced previously through the province’s Building Faster Fund.
“By investing in drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities and connecting pipes to land, we are helping municipalities build more homes,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “Homes can’t be built without connections to drinking water and wastewater.”
