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Chairperson of the City’s Water and Waste, Riverbank Management and the Environment committee, Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) said in a statement on Tuesday he wants to see a reduction in sewage spills into rivers “with a $180 million commitment over the next six years.”
In a statement, the city said its capital investment plan will also invest $117 million in water main renewals, $117 million in sewer main revitalization over the next six years, and $39 million towards residential water meter renewal.
Environmental investments, the city explained, will contribute to the protection of Lake Winnipeg through upgrades to the North End Sewage Treatment Plant (NESTP), which they say are vital to future development in Winnipeg.
In September, council voted unanimously to endorse a request from the province to transfer $321.24 million of federal funds from the Transit Stream to the Green Infrastructure Stream under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) in support of upgrades to the NESTP.
The city said its decision hinged on the provincial government providing its share of $267.7 million towards the upgrade.
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Water and Waste 2021 budget report facts:
Number of complaints about raw sewer backups 2017: 687 2019: 1,000
Number of complaints about water taste and odour 2017: 205 2019: 133
Number of water quality tests conducted 2017: 66,734 2019: 63,952
Kilometers of sewer inspected and cleaned 2017: 124 2019: 157
Number of industrial waste tests conducted 2017: 41,522 2019: 64,361
