The City of Owen Sound, Ontario, is modernizing its water and wastewater infrastructure at a solid pace. However, on occasion Mother Nature, in the form of an unexpectedly cold winter, can drive the city to move even faster.

Owen Sound is a city of about 22,000 people with a relatively mature and stable population. It’s located about 150 miles north of Toronto, along the shores of Georgian Bay. The city’s first water system, fed by a spring, dates back to 1880 when the...