Wheatley Updates

Media Release

November 07, 2022

Elm Street and Foster Street to be Reopened Tuesday, November 8

Elm Street between Erie Street North and Little Street and Foster Street between Erie Street North and Victoria in Wheatley will reopen for traffic Tuesday, November 8 by the end of the day.

Ryan Brown, Chatham-Kent Director of Public Works, said the provincial drilling contracting firm has completed its work and demobilized from the site, providing the ability to open the roadway.

Security personnel will remain at the site of the reduced evacuation zone on a 24-hour basis.

The municipality is planning to implement a scrubber system to capture any H2S gas at the site from the monitoring well during the interim monitoring period of the well. This could lead to a further reduction of the evacuation zone and the reopening of Erie Street North between Elm and Talbot Road. The current flare stack onsite will remain as a backup system for the time being as an additional safety measure.

Options to allow pedestrian traffic along the street are being discussed as part of that plan.

Brown said reopening the streets will provide a much improved east-west traffic flow through the community.

Today is the day! The Chatham-Kent Public Library as the Wheatley Branch re-opens for regular service.

The space has been shined up and is ready for your return. We have fresh paint on the outside doors and have professionally cleaned our space from top to bottom! We’ve also invested in a collection refresh. All library services will be available including wifi and computer access; printing and photocopying service and of course all the books, magazines and DVDs that you’re used to enjoying!

Staff can’t wait to welcome you back to the Wheatley Branch! Hours of operation are Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm and Wednesdays and Saturdays 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.

Tuesday into Thursday early morning, contractors and a team from the University of Windsor were on site as they conducted a production flow test of the monitoring well in the municipal parking lot. The test ran smoothly, gas was flared off, and all equipment worked as planned. The water from the well was discharged into the sanitary sewer.

Information from the sampling will be used to determine next steps for monitoring.

Residents are reminded, when they see the flare, that means the planned process and equipment is working as intended.

In the meantime, residents are reminded that if at any time you detect the smell of gas, to immediately call 9-1-1.

On September 28^th, the provincial contractor completed the cut and cap of the well.

Today, contractors and a team from the University of Windsor will be on site as they conduct a production flow test. Extra air monitoring will occur as they begin pumping the well. The test involves pumping the well for six hours, putting the water and gas through separator and sampling and testing the by-products from the test. Testing will continue into October 5^th.

Information from the sampling will be used to determine next steps for monitoring.

Most of the site restoration work has been undertaken, however there is still some contractor equipment on site and some miscellaneous cleanup work to complete.

In the meantime, residents are reminded that if at any time you detect the smell of gas, to immediately call 9-1-1.

The Municipality’s contractors will be performing a production flow test of the monitoring well in the municipal parking lot for the duration of the day Tuesday, October 4^th.

Safety systems are in place to pump water out of the well for 6 hours and measure the quantity and concentration of any gasses emitted. This data is needed to further review the evacuation zone and for future right-sizing of equipment.

Preparations for this work will commence today, Monday, October 3rd starting at 12:00 pm.

All air monitors will be operational, and the Chatham-Kent Fire Department will be onsite. If residents smell any gas, they should immediately call 9-1-1.

Final work on APEC 1 will continue today as contractors complete cutting the well and capping. Testing will continue with clean-up and restoration of the work area later this week.

In the meantime, residents are reminded that if at any time you detect the smell of gas, to immediately call 9-1-1.

Work on the APEC 1 well in Wheatley has resumed. The provincial contractor will be on site today to complete cementing the inner casing of the well. Cement will need to be set and then final work to abandon the well will continue later this week.

Work on restoring the worksite and contractor demobilization will begin as soon as this work is complete and is expected to take into next week.

In the meantime, residents are reminded that if at any time they detect the smell of gas, to immediately call 9-1-1.

Work on the APEC 1 well in Wheatley is currently on hold as experts assess the work completed last week on the installation of the cement between the casing and the conductor pipe. Work is expected to resume at the beginning of next week to begin plugging the well.

An in-person town hall meeting to update residents and provide a forum for questions and answers will be held in Wheatley on Thursday, September 15^th at the Wheatley Arena. The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm. Anyone unable to attend in person or who wishes to participate virtually will be able to watch the meeting live on the Municipal Facebook and YouTube channels. Those wishing to attend the meeting in-person can signup via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/414861260197

In the meantime, residents are reminded that if at any time they detect the smell of gas, to immediately call 9-1-1.