Click here to download the Fetherston Park Case Study [PDF].
Fetherston Park is a 41 unit rural residential community in North Grenville, Ontario, serviced by private onsite water infrastructure that was constructed in stages starting around 1970. The original buried infrastructure included a small drinking water treatment plant and distribution pipe network, sanitary sewers, and five communal septic systems with leaching fields.
After decades of poor maintenance and inadequate management of sewers and septic systems, there were significant operational issues with the existing infrastructure that required a complete replacement of the onsite wastewater infrastructure. The owner did not undertake the required work, and eventually residents were issued a notice that the Park must close due to public health and environmental concerns related to the failed wastewater system unless a suitable technical and financial solution was found.
Clearford Water Systems, through its wholly owned subsidiary Clearford Water Utility (Fetherston) Inc., entered into agreements with the Municipality and the Park to fund, design, construct, and operate the Park’s entire water and wastewater infrastructure for a 30 year term.
The Clearford One system was configured to meet the needs and topography of the Park to transport wastewater by gravity to a packaged M-brane™ facility manufactured in a shipping container by Koester Canada. The treated effluent meets very high water quality standards—enough for discharge to a seasonal dry ditch on the site that enters an environmentally-sensitive watershed.
Project Highlights
- First installation of Clearford One in Canada and prototype for the innovative Clearford Pay-for-Performance (P4P) project delivery model.
- Water and wastewater servicing for 41 residential lots with capability for expansion to accommodate a further 100 residential lots.
- Special approval was obtained for common (single) trench installation of the sanitary sewers and watermains to minimize disruption during construction.
- M-brane™ plug-and-play treatment plant by Koester Canada features the first commercial installation of the Fibracast FibrePlate™ membrane, a hybrid hollow fibre/flat plate membrane with improved filtration performance and space efficiency.
- Reliable and easy-to-operate ultraviolet disinfection systems for drinking water and wastewater treatment by UV Pure Technologies.
Reference
“The Clearford One decentralized communal wastewater collection and treatment system delivers a complete servicing solution. The system’s packaged approach provides flexibility when retrofitting existing sites and allows for easy expansion as developments grow. Clearford One was an affordable solution presented for this project and literally saved Fetherston Park.”
– Karen Dunlop, Director of Public Works for Municipality of North Grenville

Clearford One commissioning ceremony at Fetherston Park in North Grenville, Ontario.
From left to right: Peter Rupcic and Richard Nie, Koester Canada; Karen Dunlop, Director of Public Works, and David Gordon, Mayor, North Grenville; Kevin Loiselle, Clearford Water Systems; Maurice Dumoulin, Fetherston Mobile Park Association; and Brian J. Carré, Chief Administrative Officer, North Grenville.