Residents of Parksville and Nanoose in British Columbia will benefit from new drinking water infrastructure thanks to joint funding from the federal and provincial governments through the Small Communities Fund.
As part of a joint venture between the City of Parksville and the Regional District of Nanaimo to develop a regional water supply system, the project will involve the construction of a new water intake that will draw water from the Englishman River. The new river water intake will be designed and located to reflect how residents and visitors access and use the river and to protect aquatic habitat while assuring the community has an adequate and usable source of potable water for current and anticipated future needs.
The Government of Canada will provide up to $3 million through the Small Communities Fund for the project. The Province of British Columbia will contribute another $3 million. Parksville will be responsible for all remaining costs of the project, which is are estimated at $24.3 million.
The project is among those recently approved in British Columbia that will collectively receive more than $42 million in joint federal-provincial funding under the Small Communities Fund. These projects represent important investments in municipal infrastructure that maintain safe, healthy communities. Of the 21 projects approved for funding in British Columbia so far, 11 are drinking water projects, nine are wastewater projects, and one is a brownfield remediation project. Additional projects are under review and could also soon be approved.
