Background

The City of Cornwall owns and operates Cornwall’s drinking water system. This includes the Water Purification Plant, which provides potable water to the City of Cornwall. The Water Purification Plant obtains water from Lake St. Lawrence, next to the R.H. Saunders Power Dam. Risks have been identified with the current intake and transmission main. The City is proposing to install a secondary raw water intake, which would provide redundancy in the event of a catastrophic failure of the existing raw water intake.

Impact on Cornwall Residents

The Water Purification Plant continuously treats and distributes clean, safe water for use by residents and businesses. Safe drinking water is a cornerstone of a sustainable, healthy community and environment.

The supply of quality drinking water is a public service to protect public health, safety, and property in an environmentally sustainable responsible manner. Any disruption of raw water flow to the Water Purification Plant would jeopardize the health and safety of the citizens of Cornwall and would result in environmental harm as well as negatively impact the local economy.

This Cornwall Water Purification Plant Secondary Intake Environmental Assessment Project aligns with the City’s Strategic Plan mission statement: “ To provide services that enable a financially and environmentally sustainable community which will care and provide for the needs and values of its residents”. The Environmental Assessment process evaluated alternative solutions for the establishment of a secondary raw water intake to help ensure the safe, continuous supply of water for the residents and businesses of the City.