Tuesday, February 10, 2026
The District of Ucluelet has announced major upgrades to its community water treatment system.
Ucluelet’s water comes from the Lost Shoe Creek Aquifer and is safe to drink, a District of Ucluelet release said. It cautioned naturally occuring iron, manganese and turbidity along with the required use of chlorine can “create operational challenges and can occasionally cause discolouration in the distribution system.”
After testing and evaluation, the release said, the district selected a treatment system combining filtration, chlorine disinfection and ultraviolet inactivation.
“This project marks an important step forward for our community. It’s been a long-standing priority, supported by years of planning and hard work. Upgrading our water treatment system will improve the quality and reliability of our drinking water and ensure our infrastructure can meet the community’s needs well into the future,” District of Ucluelet mayor Marilyn McEwen.
$7.04 million was secured buy the district for the project through the Canada Infrastructure program and additional support was approved through the Alternative Approval Process for Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 1304, 2022, enabling long-term borrowing of up to $13 million, the release said.
The total project budget is $14,034,547 and construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 with system commissioning into early 2027.
Detailed design for the project was completed in Sept. 2025 and the construction contract has been awarded to Ridgeline Mechanical Ltd. Bulk excavation began in November 2025, with installation of the new prefabricated building and treatment equipment set to follow throughout 2026, the release said.
The District of Ucluelet will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, March 31 at 11:00 AM to officially kick off construction of the new water treatment system.
