City launches chemical treatment project to improve Lake Winnipeg health

City hall is launching a new project to improve the health of Lake Winnipeg.

A new chemical treatment process — with a $19.3-million price tag — is intended to remove more phosphorus from the sewage leaving the North End treatment plant.

The city says the process isn’t part of the more than $1.8 billion earmarked to upgrade the plant. While the process won’t bring the plant into compliance, it’s expected to significantly reduce the amount of harmful materials being dumped into the lake.

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“Using a chemical process allows us to make an immediate impact on the health of Lake Winnipeg in a cost-effective way while we continue to have discussions with the provincial and federal governments about funding more extensive solutions,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a statement Monday.

The city will spend the next year optimizing the system, the mayor said.

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