Funding has been announced by the Government of Canada for the North End Sewage Treatment Plant in Winnipeg.

“Investing in renewing or modernizing our public infrastructure is essential to sustain healthy and resilient communities,” said Daniel Vandal, minister of northern affairs and member of parliament for Saint Boniface–Saint Vital. “The North End Sewage Treatment Plant project will ensure continuous and reliable services, help protect the environment, and will also increase capacity in the region for current and future development.”

Commissioned in 1937, the North End Sewage Treatment Plant is Winnipeg’s oldest and largest sewage treatment plant. It processes 70 per cent of the city’s wastewater. Given the city’s continuous growth as well as enhanced environmental protections, the plant must now be upgraded to increase its capacity to treat and manage wastewater and storm water.

“In recent years, population growth in Winnipeg has outpaced the capacity of local wastewater infrastructure,” said Terry Duguid, member of parliament for Winnipeg South. Duguid is also the parliamentary secretary to the minister of economic development and official languages (Western Economic Diversification Canada) and to the minister of environment and climate change (Canada Water Agency).

“Investments from federal, provincial and municipal governments have been key to securing this important project,” added Duguid. “Importantly, this investment represents a major step in improving water quality in the Red River and Lake Winnipeg.”

The North End Sewage Treatment Plant’s Headworks Facilities project is a key step in improving the health of Lake Winnipeg, one of Manitoba’s greatest treasures. The project will include the addition of new raw sewage pumps, plate screens, and grit washing. It will also include other improvements to extend the plant’s service life, support population and economic growth, and contribute to building a stronger, cleaner, and more environmentally sustainable community.

“Our government recognizes the importance of providing Manitobans with safe and sustainable infrastructure,” said Derek Johnson, minister of municipal relations. “We want to ensure that our infrastructure can accommodate future population growth, and these types of investments will move our province forward and is key in growing our economy. This investment is also a huge step forward to addressing issues with cleaning up Lake Winnipeg to help protect our environment for generations to come.”

Additional environmental considerations were incorporated into this project. For example, the use of standby pumps that can support the capacity of extreme flow conditions, planting vegetation and other windbreaks in critical areas, and installing monitoring systems to monitor odors and additional off-gassing during hot temperatures.

“Building on previous investments by the City of Winnipeg, today’s funding announcement from the federal and provincial governments is a vital step toward better protecting the health of Lake Winnipeg and ensuring future growth in Winnipeg,” said Brian Bowman, mayor of Winnipeg. “This project is another successful example of all three levels of government working together with significant funding for the benefit of Winnipeggers.”

The Government of Canada is investing more than $116.1 million in this project through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of Manitoba is providing over $96.7 million, and the City of Winnipeg is contributing over $143 million.

Header Image Credit: City of Winnipeg.

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