All three levels of government have made an investment for upgrades to the City of Fredericton’s wastewater treatment facility.
On Tuesday, federal Liberal MP Jenica Atwin, provincial Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Jill Green and Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers announced $36 million would be spent on the facility.
In total, the provincial government is committing $12.1 million, with the federal government investing another $14.6 million and the city contributing $9.7 million.
“The upgrades are crucial for the future of our environment, they are crucial for the growth of our city, our city continues to grow and is drawing on our water and sewer infrastructure. It’s also important for the overall health of Frederictonians,” said Rogers.
The funding will be used to complete the fourth phase including upgrades to specialized tanks, pumps, pipes and other systems related to the treatment of wastewater.
It is expected the work will also reduce the likelihood of failures and water loss at the facility, which minimizes the potential impact on nearby bodies of water.
Rogers didn’t know how common it was for the systems in Fredericton to fail.
“Water-related infrastructure plays a pivotal role in the health of residents and the environment,” said Jenica Atwin in a media release.
“Upgrading and modernizing water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in Fredericton will help the community better meet demands for services, while increasing capacity to handle a changing climate.”
“We are proud of our asset management approach that allows us to spend the right money at the right time on these renewal and replacement efforts,” said Rogers in a media release.
Rogers also said she was excited that the city’s fiscal management approach helped, alongside the funding, to give it the flexibility to also allocate federal funds it go under the Canada Community-Building Fund to go toward a new performing arts centre.
She said the council never discussed prioritizing one project over the other in an interview on Tuesday.
The project is funded through the Integrated Bilateral Agreement.
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