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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
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The Manitoba government will grant the City of Winnipeg’s request to move the deadline for it to complete the nearly $3.1-billion North End sewage treatment plant upgrade from 2030 to 2032.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve ensured that the city has completed a comprehensive, updated plan. We want to get this project done. We \u2026 would have liked to have this project done yesterday,\u201d said Moyes.<\/p>\n
The province refused to extend the deadline in the past. In 2024, it stated sticking with the 2030 target was necessary, due to the urgent need to reduce water pollution.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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The upgrade is designed to greatly expand sewage capacity and significantly reduce algae-promoting nutrients that flow out of the plant into the Red River and end up in Lake Winnipeg. Two years ago, the province held firm on its deadline, stating that pollution helped fuel toxic algal blooms that harm water and threaten tourism, fisheries and the livelihood of First Nations that depend on the lake.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Moyes said that deadline no longer appears realistic.<\/p>\n
\u201c We want to get this project done. We \u2026 would have liked to have this project done yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately \u2026 we want to make sure that we\u2019re protecting our waterways. Unfortunately, we haven\u2019t seen as much progress as we would like, so we\u2019re looking to push to ensure that the city can meet (the adjusted) milestones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The list of interim project deadlines calls for the first \u201cheadworks facilities\u201d phase of work to be substantially completed by Aug. 31 of this year, and for the second \u201cbiosolids facilities\u201d phase to reach that point by Dec. 31, 2030.<\/p>\n
The new timeline calls for the third and final \u201cnutrient-removal facilities\u201d phase to reach that mark by Dec. 31, 2032.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is ultimately about safeguarding the health of Lake Winnipeg and our waterways. And so, we\u2019re ensuring that the City of Winnipeg has a plan to come into compliance \u2026 with (its pollution limits),\u201d said Moyes.<\/p>\n
If timelines are not met, the city will face \u201cappropriate action\u201d through environmental protection orders or other means, the minister said.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press Files<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes<\/p>\n He confirmed the province has committed to fund one-third of the cost of Phase 2, but stopped short of promising to fund the same portion of Phase 3.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re committed to seeing this project through but those talks are ongoing and we\u2019ll continue to work with all partners,\u201d said Moyes.<\/p>\n Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham welcomed the deadline change.<\/p>\n \u201cI always thought that was a very tight timeline, so I appreciate that (it) has been extended,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n However, the mayor said getting federal and provincial funding to cover the third phase of the project is critical to completing the work.<\/p>\n \u201cEven 2032 has a level of risk (to get the project built) if we don\u2019t see the funding commitments \u2026 this year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur staff have been very clear that we have limited capacity at the north end plant and so we need to build \u2026 uninterrupted. To do that, we need funding confirmed,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n Coun. Jeff Browaty, the finance chairman, agreed, stating the revised timeline is still somewhat aggressive.<\/p>\n \u201cEven 2032 has a level of risk (to get the project built) if we don\u2019t see the funding commitments \u2026 this year,\u201d said Browaty (North Kildonan).<\/p>\n Coun. Ross Eadie, chairman of the water and waste committee, said the additional time to complete the complex megaproject is greatly needed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m relieved they\u2019ve acknowledged our argument that it needs to be extended,\u201d said Eadie (Mynarski).<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The new solids handling facility at the North End wastewater treatment plant.<\/p>\n The councillor said work on the first phase of the project, and planning for the second, allowed the city to fine-tune its schedule, making it increasingly clear that the 2030 deadline would be missed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt needs two more years to complete everything,\u201d said Eadie.<\/p>\n A request to interview a member of Winnipeg\u2019s water and waste department was not granted Friday.<\/p>\n In a written statement, a spokesman said securing the $1.57 billion needed for the third and final phase of the project is critical to completing it on time without substantially raising water and sewer rates.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout funding from other levels of government, the burden of paying for this project would shift to ratepayers,\u201d wrote David Driedger.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The city’s upgrade to the treatment plant is designed to greatly expand sewage capacity and significantly reduce algae-promoting nutrients that flow out of the plant into the Red River and end up in Lake Winnipeg.<\/p>\n joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n X: @joyanne_pursaga<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Joyanne Pursaga Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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