The estimated cost to expand the water treatment plant in Collingwood has more than doubled. In a joint statement released Sept. 12, the Town of Collingwood and the Town of New Tecumseth announced they had received bids from pre-qualified contractors for the plant expansion. “The unofficial low bid received was $212 (million) for construction alone. The total project costs are now estimated to be in the range of $270M, and the timeline to complete the project has also been extended by about two years longer than originally projected,” the statement read. “This is shocking news. The costs are more than double the estimate from March 2022. We were also planning to have an expanded plant in 2026, not 2028.” The original estimate was about $120 million. In 2021, amid concerns the plant had reached 80 per cent capacity, Collingwood decided to freeze development. Both municipalities recently signed a sharing agreement that will see Collingwood provide water to New Tecumseth. “When we received the estimates early last year, we knew they could change, but did not expect increases of this magnitude,” the statement read. “The global economy is still adjusting to a new post-pandemic reality. The water/wastewater and construction industries have been hit hard by ongoing supply shortages, increased construction costs, and shortages of skilled workers. "These factors are out of our control, and other municipalities we have spoken with have experienced significant budget increases for similar projects. Staff have already been looking at every option to control costs and reduce the project timeline.” Staff from both municipalities are studying the bids and will forward a report with the final projected costs to their councils by the end of November. “Our expansion project is shovel ready. It is the largest investment in Collingwood and New Tecumseth’s history, and an enormous amount of work has happened to get us where we are today," the statement read. "However, our communities cannot fund the entire cost of the expansion.”