Ontario communities receive $29M in green infrastructure funding
A handful of communities across Ontario will share in $29 million in funding for green-infrastructure projects.
The money, which comes from the federal and provincial governments, will be shared among 19 communities. The smallest of those projects—for work on a pumping station in Westport—is valued at $418,000; the largest is valued at nearly $4.2 million and sees work on a watermain in Arnprior.
Other projects include the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Forsythe West Stormwater Management Facility in Uxbridge, at a value of nearly $2.4 million. The existing stormwater pond will be modified to increase stormwater management capacity. This includes installing stormwater storage and infiltration tanks, new concrete pipes, maintenance holes, and new headwalls to direct water flow and protect roads and embankments from erosion.
"The Township is very grateful to be able to partner with Industry Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure to retrofit the Forsythe West storm water pond,” said Uxbridge Mayor Dave Barton. “This pond is adjacent to the popular South Balsam trail and, due to age, the pond is no longer as efficient in protecting our watershed as it once was. This project will replace the pond with a more efficient filtration system which will require less maintenance over time and remain effective over a longer lifespan."
In Larder Lake, $3.3 million funding will support Phase 2 of the Larder Lake Road reconstruction project. The project includes replacing all damaged watermains, sections of sanitary sewer, repairing maintenance holes, and completing the rehabilitation of degraded infrastructure along 1.7 kilometres of Larder Lake Road. This project will help improve the quality of life in rural Larder Lake by eliminating health risks and preventing hazardous conditions that could impact the community and the environment.
Laurentian Hills will see upgrades to its wastewater treatment facility. Work includes the replacement of the sewage, clarifier and aeration equipment, and the relining of the grit channel. New components will also be added to the facility including SCADA systems, a chlorine contact chamber, flocculants and coagulants, and additional sludge holding capacity. Once completed, this project will help reduce the discharge of untreated sewage, reduce phosphorous levels into the receiving stream, and allow the plant to operate more efficiently. That project is valued at $2.9 million.
Additional investments include upgrades to drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater facilities and infrastructure, the replacement of old pipes, in addition to road, curbs, and sidewalk upgrades, and other improvements to existing water distribution systems.
The Government of Canada is investing over $16 million in these projects through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada plan. The Government of Ontario is providing over $13 million, and municipalities are contributing over $14 million to their respective projects.
In a separate announcement on July 13, the province also said it would commit additional funding to small municipalities to help improve the quality of their drinking water.
The funding, which is available under the Green Infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, is open to Ontario’s to 408 municipalities with populations under 100,000, 127 First Nations and eight Local Services Boards. Up to $240 million in joint federal and provincial funding is available, including $110 million from the Ontario government.
The funds will target projects that address critical health and safety needs in communities by making local drinking water infrastructure safer and more reliable.