The Manitoba government is putting approximately $8 million toward wastewater infrastructure projects in the city of Winnipeg, the province announced Monday.
Building on the city’s long-term combined sewer overflow project, the province is spending $7.5 million for the southwest sewer interceptor project and $433,000 for the risk mitigation infrastructure at the Darcy Sewer Lift station.
“These upgrades will provide immediate pollution relief to the Red River and Lake Winnipeg, and mitigate flood risks for many homes in Winnipeg and the surrounding area,” Environment and Climate Minister Kevin Klein said in a press release.
The project aims to build additional system capacity and get more wastewater to the South End Sewage Treatment Plant while reducing nutrient loading into the province’s freshwater systems, the release states.
In 2013, Lake Winnipeg was designated the most polluted lake in Canada, Klein said.
The announcement made no mention of funding for the third phase of upgrades to Winnipeg’s North End sewage treatment project, the city’s oldest and largest sewage facility.
In April the city struck a task force to keep major wastewater infrastructure projects in Manitoba on track — specifically the North End project.
Upgrades to the North Winnipeg plant have a 2030 provincial deadline. In August 2022 the estimated cost of the project was $552 million.
— with files from Samuel Thompson