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County council approves pays for water improvements at Dufferin Oaks

November 3, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Water pressure at the Dufferin Oaks Long-term Care Home falls a little flat.

And Dufferin County council agreed during its Oct. 23 meeting to dip into the facility’s capital reserve fund to pay for the additional necessary work.

County councillor Philip Rentsch, Grand Valley’s deputy mayor, said the water pressure into the facility seems “ridiculously low” and he wanted to know if that was out of the norm or if it is indicative of the service in Shelburne.

Brenda Wagner, the county’s health and human services director, said the water going into Dufferin Oaks is 40 pounds per square inch (psi). A report to county council indicated that a pressure of up to 80 psi is required to adequately push water to the facility’s third floor.

The ideal residential water pressure is generally taken to be between 40 psi and 60 psi. Many builders believe the 60-70 psi range is preferred by property owners.

Wagner said a comparative investigation with the municipality gauged water pressure at the Mel Lloyd Centre and the McKelvie Burnside Village to be 70 psi.

“My assumption around this is that during the original build maybe something wasn’t set up correctly,” she said. “Determining what the root cause of this is really on our end.”

According to a staff report to county council, the cost to fix the water pressure problem could reach as much as $39,225.

Warden Janet Horner, Mulmur’s mayor, said hot water on the third floor at Dufferin Oaks is also an issue. That impacts care to residents, especially during peak times of the day.

Due to the building’s structure, the current plumbing system at Dufferin Oaks is insufficient to keep up with demand.

Wagner said staff have been compensating by timing when certain water-intensive tasks and duties, such as baths, are carried out.

“They’ve just been working around this,” Wagner said.

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