Friday, August 7, 2026
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) is pleased to share that it is the recipient of a federal grant worth $7 million through the Strategic Priorities Fund, to be used for construction of a water treatment plant for the Savona Community Water System.
This is the largest grant that the TNRD has received for any project in its history and ensures that the Savona water treatment plant project can proceed. This facility will address longstanding water quality concerns caused by elevated turbidity in the water system’s source, drawn from Kamloops Lake.
This water treatment facility will include membrane filtration and upgrades to existing infrastructure, ensuring compliance with Interior Health drinking water standards and significantly improving water quality for approximately 650 residents who rely on this system.
“As the largest community water system operated by the TNRD, Savona’s system will benefit from the addition of a state-of-the-art water filtration plant that will finally end the chronic annual boil water advisories for the community,” said Mike Grenier, Director for Electoral Area “J” (Copper Desert Country) and Chair of the TNRD Utility Systems Committee. “I am grateful to TNRD staff and my fellow Board members for unanimously supporting this priority grant funding application. I also want to thank the Province and Union of BC Municipalities for their constructive dialogue regarding TNRD water systems.”
Now that the TNRD has received this grant, staff will proceed with next steps of project design and engineering beginning this fall. Currently, this project is expected to cost $11 million and would be fully grant funded with no additional costs to ratepayers. Grant funding committed to this project includes $7 million through the Strategic Priorities Fund, $3 million through the Growing Communities Fund, and $1 million through the Build Communities Strong Fund.
“The TNRD Board has advocated strongly on behalf of funding for our small water systems for the past four years,” said Barbara Roden, TNRD Board Chair. “This funding will help strengthen our largest water system, ensuring that residents of Savona can rely on a safe, dependable source of water for many years to come. We are grateful to the Government of Canada for providing major funding for this essential project.”
Once built, this will be the second water treatment plant among TNRD Community Water Systems. A new water treatment plant for Pritchard has recently finished being built, and commissioning of that water system is taking place over the coming weeks.
The TNRD owns and operates 11 Community Water Systems, all of which were constructed within communities and later acquired by the TNRD upon request. These water systems range in size from 16 connections to approximately 325 connections.
On July 30, 2026, the federal and provincial governments along with the Union of BC Municipalities announced a federal investment of more than $152 million to support 54 community infrastructure and capacity-building projects. The Savona water treatment plant is one of the 54 projects that were approved through this grant funding stream.
Featured image: (Thompson-Nicola Regional District)
