By Luke Edwards
Funding to help improve wastewater capacity in Port Dover will mark the largest cheque Queen’s Park has ever cut for Norfolk County.
The announcement, made Aug. 29, sees the Province providing $16.5 million to the county to help pay for upgrades at the Port Dover wastewater treatment plant. It will allow housing developments to move forward while also reducing the tax burden on local ratepayers, county officials say.
“We were just so thrilled, it’s nice to finally produce some results for the residents of Norfolk,” said Mayor Amy Martin in a follow up interview.
Not only is the $16.5 million the maximum amount the county could have received, it’ll also cover nearly half the entire project, which is expected to cost in the neighbourhood of $34 to $36 million.
Without the funding, the county would have had to take out debt to finance the project. So all told, Martin said it’s saving the municipality an estimated $24.1 million when factoring in interest they won’t have to pay.
The funding comes through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, a $970 million pool of provincial dollars that’s meant to help municipalities develop, repair, rehabilitate, and expand drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. Locally, the money will replace obsolete technology, increase capacity and prevent overflows into Lake Erie, including new highly efficient preliminary, biological and disinfection treatment processes.
With the upgrades, the county says proposed developments will be able to move forward without worries of a development moratorium due to capacity issues.
“This significant funding not only enhances our community’s resilience and growth but also ensures that our current and future residents benefit from affordable, high-quality services,” said CAO Al Meneses in a press release. “This partnership marks a pivotal moment in our efforts to build a stronger, more sustainable Norfolk."
Norfolk had already upgraded water capacity. The new project will bring water and wastewater into alignment.
A request for proposals has been completed, and Martin said the project could start in September. An estimated completion date is 2027.
Martin suggested work done by council both on the advocacy front and rebuilding relationships with their counterparts at Queen’s Park helped secure the investment. She said it was a commitment she made during her campaign, but was quick to add that the success is the result of the work of councillors and staff. She also thanked Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma for taking an interest in Norfolk County and its infrastructure needs. The minister visited Norfolk in May to learn more about the Port Dover wastewater project.
Ontario’s Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund is part of a $1.9 billion investment Surma recently announced. The investment is aimed at helping the province meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031.
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