Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
A joint investment of more than $1.7 million dollars to support two green projects in Saskatchewan has been announced. According to a release, Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, PrairiesCan and CanNor on behalf of Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities and Saskatchewan’s Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Laura Ross new funding will support upgrades to the Danielson Provincial Park sewage lagoon to ensure it complies with regulatory requirements.
The Province is investing almost $2 million in water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades that will help the Town of Antigonish and the Municipality of the County of Antigonish prepare for future growth. Our municipalities depend on modern infrastructure to be competitive and attract new residents to their communities,” said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr. “By making these investments, we will improve the efficiency of the water and wastewater systems, ensuring residents and businesses have the services they expect and depend on every day and laying the foundation for continued growth for years to come.”
Brandon City Council will introduce a bylaw to borrow $15 million for the final phase of upgrades to the municipal water treatment plant at its next meeting. In January, Premier Heather Stefanson announced that Brandon would be receiving a further $15 million from the province toward the project on top of the $38 million it had already provided.
“Three interdependent projects that are in close physical proximity will increase the capacity to treat and manage wastewater and storm water and increase access to potable water. The Vancouver Street intersection will be improved, including the water lines supplying the Yarmouth Regional Hospital," reads the project description. "In the neighbouring combined sewer overflow, a tidal check valve will be installed to prevent tidal water from entering the combined sewer system. The Gardner Street Lift Station will be disconnected from the storm water connection to receive a new exterior dedicated line and outfall."
The Province is investing a total of $3.9 million in infrastructure upgrades in Mahone Bay, Yarmouth, Digby and Clare that will help prepare the municipalities for future growth. “Our municipalities depend on modern infrastructure to be competitive and attract new residents to their communities,” said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr. “By making these investments, we will improve the efficiency of the water and wastewater systems, ensuring residents and businesses have the services they expect and depend on every day and laying the foundation for continued growth for years to come.”
The Manitoba government is putting together a task force to push for the timely completion of Winnipeg's most expensive infrastructure project, but the province isn't ready yet to commit any additional money to the project. Kevin Klein, the provincial environment minister and a former city councillor, and current Coun. Brian Mayes are teaming up for a new joint task force to advance wastewater projects, with particular focus on the North End Water Pollution Control Centre. Klein will serve as chair and Mayes will be vice-chair.
It’s been a busy few years at the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant (ABTP) where the outfall is being upgraded to better handle storm surges and population growth demands, but the end is in sight. The ABTP is the second largest plant of its kind in Canada and one of the oldest, dating back to 1917 with the outfall constructed in 1947. It is one of Toronto’s four water treatment plants. The scope of the work is complex and extensive, adding a new outflow pipe to take discharge further into Lake Ontario after treatment by a new ultra-violet sanitization system.
Today, Lena Metlege Diab, Member of Parliament for Halifax West, the Honourable Kim Masland, Minister of Public Works, and Her Worship Darlene Norman, Mayor of the Region of Queens Municipality, announced more than $2.6 million in joint funding for water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades in the Region of Queens Municipality. Funding will go towards upgrading and replacing water, sanitary, and storm sewer lines and decommissioning the existing combined sewer outfall in the Waterloo East sewershed boundary. The project will also include a new wastewater pumping station, forcemain, and a new storm sewer outfall. The stormwater system will be designed to withstand 100-year storm water levels.
The Province is investing in infrastructure upgrades in Wolfville that will help prepare the town for future growth. The project will improve the wastewater treatment plant and increase treatment capacity, leading to higher quality wastewater and sewage disposal systems. The upgrades include a newly constructed third lagoon cell and protective raised barrier, an improved aeration system and a new operational monitoring and control system.
A boil water advisory in Sachigo Lake First Nation that had been in effect for four years was officially lifted last week. The advisory, which was upgraded to a long-term advisory in 2019, was rescinded after upgrades to the water treatment system were finished. The work included an expansion of the wastewater lagoon. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu is expected to address the matter in the House of Commons on Wednesday, “That brings us to 31 boil-water advisories left to lift nationally, 136 since we took office that have been lifted,” Hajdu said in prepared comments that were submitted to NWONewswatch.
A project expected to help protect homeowners from flooding will receive over $32.7-million from the federal government. Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk, joined by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and Windsor’s Mayor, announced the funding on Wednesday morning at the Lou Romano Water Reclamation Plant in West Windsor.
Winnipeg mayoral candidate Rana Bokhari wants to speed up the North End Water Treatment Plant upgrades as well as provide more money to the Combined Sewer Overflow Plan if elected this fall. Speaking to reporters outside the North End plant on Monday, Bokhari said that she aims to have upgrades to the facility completed by 2033, 12 years ahead of schedule. Bokhari would also up the spending on the Combined Sewer Overflow Plan to $60 million a year. She commended the city for upping its budget from $30 million a year to $45 million. Bokhari says she would work with the province and federal governments to match that.
Winnipeggers will deal with flooded basements and sewage in the rivers for decades as the city's sewer improvement plan crawls along at its current pace. The city has increased the amount of rainfall, snowmelt and sewage its systems can hold by one percentage point since 2013. But that's right on track, one city councillor said.
At the May 26 regional board meeting, qathet Regional District (qRD) approved grant applications under the Canada Community-Building Fund. The first is to sponsor an application from the Gillies Bay Improvement District for a water system infrastructure upgrade/expansion. The second is to sponsor an application from the Van Anda Improvement District for a water system infrastructure upgrade.
Construction and upgrades of the water treatment plant at Neyaashiinigmiing are getting underway. A release from The Chippewas of Nawash Unceeded First Nation says a groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 21st. Last July, $59.8 million in federal funding was announced for the planned water treatment plant. Indigenous Services Canada’s website says the Cape Croker Public Water system has had a boil water advisory since January 2019, which became a long-term advisory the following year.
The Pembina Valley Water Co-op is continuing right where it left off in 2021, forging ahead to enhance the quality of water it provides, and ensure its member municipalities continue to have a secure supply of treated potable water going forward. CEO, Greg Archibald, says 2021 was an extremely busy year for the Co-op. Upgrades were completed at the Stephenfield Lake, including an upgrade to the plant for additional capacity in order to supply water to the Town of Carman as a result of the town shutting down it's water treatment plant and putting in a new reservoir.
La Glace Community Water System: The $1.3 million project for the La Glace Community Water System will now be proceeding to tender. The tender results will be brought back to council in the future for approval. “Alberta Environment and Parks has confirmed the groundwater source to be high quality, enabling the design, which is 90 per cent complete, to be simplified to reduce redundancies and associated costs,” said the county.
A new $9.6 million addition to the Melfort water treatment plant is intended to extend the longevity of the regional system, providing redundancy and a 40 to 50 year life span. The original water treatment plant in Melfort was built in 1958 and underwent upgrades in 1972. It was expanded in 1994, shortly after SaskWater purchased the plant. The system supplies water to approximately 9,000 users from the City of Melfort, the Melfort Rural Pipeline Association, the Village of Weldon, the Town of Kinistino, the Village of Beatty, the Town of Star City, Star City Farming, and Wapiti Valley Regional Park as well as several individual rural users.
It was a time of celebration and relief in Shoal Lake 40 First Nation on Wednesday morning, as the community that borders southeastern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario marked the opening of a new water treatment facility and the end of nearly 24 years without clean running water. But more than 30 other First Nations are still fighting for access to clean drinking water that most Canadians take for granted, including two in northern Manitoba that have been under long-term drinking water advisories for years.
On Friday the Pembina Valley Water Co-op received notice that the provincial and federal governments both supported an important funding request. CEO Greg Archibald says this will support a vital first step in upgrading the Letellier Water Treatment Plant, and the whole system. "Obviously because of the growth in Southern Manitoba and our water restrictions, this is really important. It was announced that our project for $9.335 million would be supported with a government grant from Canada at $3.7 million, and a grant from Manitoba for $3.1 million. This is great news."
