The Public Utilities Commission will continue to oversee water and wastewater service decisions in Chatham-Kent, despite municipal staff recommending a major change in governance.
During a special meeting on Monday, CK Council voted 8-8 on a dissolving the CK PUC to create a Water and Wastewater Services department that would shift water and wastewater governance directly under municipal council. However, in the event of a split vote, the motion fails.
The governance change was recommended as part of a PUC governance review conducted by consulting firm KPMG at the behest of council in November 2024. CK administration and staff had agreed with the recommendations in the review, stating that the change would have streamlined decision making, while increasing transparency, accountability, and oversight.
After calling for the special council meeting on the issue back in December 2025, Ward 5 Councillor and PUC Chair Carmen McGregor said on Monday that she did not feel council had been presented with enough information and education to make such a significant decision.
“I’m not saying it’s the wrong thing to do, it very well might be the right thing to do, but I think to make the right decision you need all of the right information to be able to understand all sides of it,” said McGregor.
Ward 6 Councillor Alysson Storey also felt the administration had failed to provide enough information for council to make an informed decision.
“I felt that we have not received a lot of the information that we had asked for. We received a lot of high level of information but nothing really that detailed. We didn’t get a detailed governance model, [and] a detailed financial impact of dissolution,” said Storey.
Any change to the governance structure would not have impacted water and wastewater rates for Chatham-Kent residents, according to staff. The governance transition was also not expected to have any financial implications for taxpayers.
In its report to council, administration noted that the PUC is designed to provide clean and safe drinking water and sewage treatment meeting regulatory environmental requirements. However, it is not prepared to look far enough ahead to anticipate and prepare for growth when the municipality is facing a generational infrastructure challenge.
Gord Quinton, Chatham-Kent’s chief financial officer, noted that Chatham-Kent will need to invest in hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure and asset management planning over the next several years.
“We’re at a point where I think it’s far too costly and far too important of and issue to only delegate to seven individuals [on the PUC] to make those massive decisions, like borrowing $400 million in debt next term,” he said.
