Clean Water Works awarded $233K contract ahead of arena’s ice-in schedule
LAURIE WEIR
SMITHS FALLS — A section of aging sewer infrastructure beneath the Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre is getting a major facelift without a single trench being dug.
At its July 14 meeting, council approved the award of Contract 25-PW-003 to Clean Water Works Inc. for the 2025 Trenchless Cured-in-Place Pipe (CIPP) Program. The $233,132 project will rehabilitate 248 metres of 1950s-era combined sewer line running from Elmsley Street North to the west side of the arena complex.
While the project came in over budget, Director of Public Works and Utilities Paul McMunn said it was the lowest of five competitive bids and is needed to mitigate risk to the facility, which sits atop part of the deteriorating pipe.
“We’re talking about concrete pipe that’s over 70 years old and partially located under the northwest corner of the Gerry Lowe Memorial Sens Rink of Dreams,” McMunn wrote in his report to council. “The portion under the arena is in fair condition, but the rest is showing significant deterioration.”
Council had approved $200,000 for the work in its 2025 capital budget. The additional $37,235.12 will be drawn from capital reserves, bringing the total contract cost, including net HST, to $237,235.12.
The winning bid from Clean Water Works came in well below the next lowest submission, which exceeded $347,000. The highest was over $546,000.
CIPP technology allows damaged pipes to be lined from the inside without excavation, extending their lifespan by 50 years or more. It’s a method that minimizes surface disruption, a key factor in this case, given the location beneath the arena complex.
The work will be completed between Aug. 11 and 21, following Old Home Week and ahead of the arena’s scheduled ice installation.
The segment of sewer being replaced is identified in the town’s Asset Management Plan as past its useful life. Smiths Falls operates a 58-kilometre sanitary sewer system, with roughly half of its mains falling into that category.
The contract approval aligns with the town’s 2023–26 strategic plan under the goal of investing in infrastructure to meet evolving needs.
Council approved the recommendation.
