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.

“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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