Southern Manitoba water treatment project advancing with $73.4M in funding

Federal, provincial and local governments have come together on a plan to upgrade a wastewater treatment plant in a fast-growing part southern Manitoba.

Infrastructure Canada, along with provincial and local officials, announced $73.4 million in joint funding June 25 for the first phase of an expansion at the wastewater treatment site in Winkler, Man.

The project covers construction of a new mechanical wastewater treatment facility in the city, which is southwest of Winnipeg, roughly two dozen kilometres from the North Dakota border. Retrofitting one of the site’s two lagoon cells, laying approximately 45 kilometres of linear piping to link two additional communities to the system and installing two lift stations in the rural municipality of Stanley are also included.

“In recent years, population growth in the booming area of Southern Manitoba has outpaced the capacity of local wastewater infrastructure,” Terry Duguid, MP for Winnipeg South, said in a release. “In addition to improving costs and service delivery, the funding announced today will create economic opportunities by attracting new families, services and businesses to the area.”

Ottawa will spend $25.2 million on the project, the Manitoba government $21 million, and the cities of Winkler and Stanley $27.2 million.