Village of Sharbot Lake - Communal Services Feasibility Project

The Township of Central Frontenac is a rural municipality located in the County of Frontenac in Eastern Ontario. Existing approaches to water and wastewater servicing constrain the County’s potential for growth as development on private individual on-site services inherently results in inefficient use of land and threatens the long-term viability of the County’s villages and hamlets, especially mainstreets. Communal services are a less expensive alternative to centralized municipal services and a more environmentally friendly alternative to private on-site services. This study will explore the possibility of redeveloping the former public-school site on communal services. This site, located in the village of Sharbot Lake, has significant potential for a compact development that could include seniors’ housing with other types of housing as well as mixed land use with the potential for public service, commercial and institutional uses. The study will look at the development of preliminary estimates of future water demands and sewage flows for the study area, general design criteria as well as servicing options, including major infrastructure requirements and costs estimates for each option. Expected environmental benefits include reduced urban sprawl and smaller development footprint; greater climate change resilience; recycling systems to reduce water consumption and reuse of gray water; and treatment of 10,000 to 15,000 L/d of wastewater. This project is aligned with the Draft Township Official Plan, which envisions making the village a regional hub for the northern half of Frontenac County. It is also closely linked to the regional plan and the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan, which supports the implementation of the Communal Services study completed in 2019. Innovative aspect(s): Applying these proven technologies to small villages and hamlets that have existing main streets and new residential and commercial development is relatively new. This project is unique in that it integrates a highly utilized part of the community with the goal to maximize social, economic, and environmental benefits. Replicability: The lessons learned from this study could be applied in other communities of Frontenac County and other rural areas across the country. (Project description from original funding application)