Master Infrastructure Plan

Introduction

The Council of the Village of Merrickville-Wolford has approved a Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP) to be conducted for the municipality.

At the Special Council Meeting on May 11, 2026, Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) provided a presentation to Council regarding the project overview for the MIP. The presentation is accessible for reference here:
Merrickville Master Plan - Project Overview

The report to Council from the Public Works Department outlining the timeline and process of initiating the Master Infrastructure Plan project is accessible for reference here:
Report to Council – April 27, 2026

The development of the MIP was redirected to OCWA, who developed a Request for Services (RFS) for advertising to qualified firms for the development of the Village MIP.

Council awarded the MIP Tender to JL Richards on May 11, 2026.

FAQs

This is Ontario’s standardized planning process for municipal infrastructure. It is required by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) before upgrading major infrastructure.

It answers 2 major questions:

Do we need to upgrade our infrastructure?
What is the best solution to meet current and future needs?

It considers:

Public health and safety
Environmental impacts
Regulatory compliance
Long-term operating costs

Scope of Work

Both OCWA and JL Richards, along with municipal staff, will be involved throughout the process.

Type of Load	OCWA’s Scope of Work
Establish a “Design Basis” for infrastructure, including population projections and associated future flows	Meet with JLR on a regular basis to track progress, mitigate project challenges, handle information requests, and to ensure the project stays on schedule, on budget and meets the expectations and requirements of the Village
Develop models of water and wastewater systems to analyze how future flows will impact infrastructure	Provide technical review of all deliverables throughout the development of the MIP
Develop alternative solutions and evaluate them to determine the preferred solutions for implementation and development	Manage the financial aspects, scheduling, and overall coordination of meetings and allowing Village staff to invest only a minimal amount of time to drive this project to successful completion
Follow consultation requirements of the Class EA process
Create a 5-year Implementation Plan that provides schedule and budget for projects to be prioritized in the next 5 years