The Huron Elgin London Projects (HELP) Clean Water initiative, a regional project that will serve the water needs of more than 500,000 residents in southwestern Ontario, is making progress. The multi-year infrastructure program is designed to benefit the region for the next 30 to 50 years.
Currently, work is continuing on the Lake Huron Residue Management Facility at the Lake Huron Water Treatment Facility. The management facility will help the system comply with current standards and reduce environmental impact. Work is also ongoing in twinning sections of the Lake Huron pipeline, which will reduce pressure on the line and decrease break risks. The Lake Huron backup generator has been installed as well, which will provide increased emergency power to the water treatment and pumping system in the case of an outage.
The cost of the HELP Clean Water initiative will be split fairly evenly between provincial, federal, and municipal governments. Ontario and Canada will each contribute a maximum of nearly $50 million, with the remainder to be covered by the Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System, the Elgin Area Primary Water Supply System, and the City of London. The total cost of the project is estimated at $176 million.
