A Windsor-Essex company is investing $4.29-million to bring new, wastewater management technology to Ontario.
SheaRock Construction Group will be building a new facility to manufacture plastic sewer maintenance shafts for use in sewer, stormwater or subsoil drainage.
Known as The Poo Pit, the shafts are an Australian designed technology, with SheaRock being a licensed distributor in Canada and the U.S.
Daryl Rocheleau, president of SheaRock Construction Group, calls the PooPit a direct replacement to a standard, concrete sanitary manhole which can break down over time.
"This here is a completely air tight system with a 100 year life expectancy with no signs of deterioration after 100 years," he says. "There's no more maintenance, no more rehab and it's going to extend the life of their investment for the future."
The plastics shafts would also allow for easier repairs compared to existing concrete manholes.
A graphic showing an underground view of The PooPit, a plastic sewer maintenance shaft for use in sewer, stormwater or subsoil drainage. (Photo courtesy of SheaRock Construction Group)
Rocheleau points out this technology will save time and money compared to the installation of your typical manhole system.
"It's two to four tons on concrete you're installing, it's a large excavation, you're moving a lot of material and earth to do that," he says. "It's about three to four hours for the crew to do that and then they have to come back to do some additional stuff. With the PooPit, this is a direct install as they're installing the pipe and it's around 15 minutes."
The investment will see a 30,000-square-foot plant constructed, creating 20 new engineers and manufacturing jobs, while retaining 46 other jobs at SheaRock's site at 5085 Walker Rd., right near North Talbot Road.
The goal is to have the plant fully operational by 2026, producing up to 10,000 units a month.
Rocheleau says the U.S. market is adopting this rather quickly and they're working with governments and municipalities here to show them the benefits.
"We've been working with their engineering departments and with the municipalities and consulting engineers to change the way they're doing business," he says. "The standards right now are for a concrete manhole, so now going to a plastic access shaft, it takes time for the government and engineers to adopt new standards."
The very first PooPit installation in North America took place in 2019 as part of a City of Windsor pilot project. The plastic shafts were used during a sewer system reconstruction project on Belle Isle View in Windsor's East Riverside neighbourhood.
During Friday's news conference, Windsor-Tecumseh Conservative MPP Andrew Dowie announced the investment will be supported with $500,000 in funding through the Ontario government's Regional Development Program – Southwestern Ontario Development Fund.
"This technology is going to help our government reach its goal of building 1.5 million homes in Ontario over the next decade by helping developers to get land serviced for building in less time and at less cost," says Dowie.
Windsor-Tecumseh Conservative MPP Andrew Dowie making a funding announcement to support an expansion at SheaRock Construction Group. Sept. 1, 2023 (Photo: Rusty Thomson)