Sarnia council is being asked to support further investigation of a possible restructuring of the Lambton Area Water Supply System (LAWSS) on Tuesday.
Mayor Mike Bradley said there is a push across the province to establish municipal service corporations (MSC) and their special interest bodies, but he questions how the city would benefit.
"So far, I've not seen any information or heard anything that gives me any comfort that the users of the water system in Sarnia would be protected and that we will not end up taking on enormous debt for other communities in the system," said Bradley.
If further investigation is approved, the general manager of LAWSS will be directed to report back findings at a future meeting.
"I'm willing to take a good look at it, but in the end it has to be a system that gives us control over resources the city is the biggest user of, yet we do not have control over it today with the voting mechanism," Bradley said.
The city pays the majority of the system cost through water rates -- nearly 60 per cent, or just over $8 million of the nearly $13.6 million 2025 budget -- but only holds 45 per cent of the board's weighted voting shares.
Before a restructuring could take place, all member municipalities would need to provide consent. LAWSS is currently comprised of six member municipalities: the City of Sarnia, Town of Plympton-Wyoming, Village of Point Edward, St. Clair Township, Township of Warwick, and Municipality of Lambton Shores.
"So, I'm looking forward to finding out where else you can take this. But, I've learned from the past, when you turn over a responsibility to special purpose bodies, you lose control, and in the end it's the taxpayers who end up with the cost and/or the debt," said Bradley.
The system was built and originally operated by the provincial government, but transferred to the member municipalities in 2003.
A report to council said LAWSS has struggled to advance some expensive capital projects, based on funding concerns. Grant opportunities are being explored, but the organization isn't eligible for many based on the current structure.
LAWSS believes a municipal service corporation would provide greater autonomy.
Ownership of the assets would be transferred from the municipalities to LAWSS, but the MSC could be governed and operated as similarly as possible to the current joint board structure.
Which means changes could be very minimal, other than improving the ability of LAWSS to apply for grants.
An asset management plan completed by LAWSS in 2021 estimated the replacement value of the entire system at $878 million.