Province, Ottawa expected to pony up more cash for sewage mega-project

The City of Winnipeg is close to an agreement that would reduce its tab for the next round of North End sewage treatment plant upgrades by hundreds of millions of dollars.

During a finance committee meeting Tuesday, officials said the province, city and federal government are expected to cover roughly one-third each of the $1.035-billion price to complete the second biosolids facility phase of the mega project. The combined cost estimate for all three phases of plant upgrades is $3.043 billion.

While a deal hasn’t been finalized, the latest cost-sharing agreement would see the city pay about $332 million, the province provide $336 million and Ottawa cover $367 million for the biosolids work.

Without a deal, the city expected to pay $637 million for the biosolids phase, largely through debt, as the federal government had formally committed $201 million and the province had officially signed off on $197 million.

“It’s new information but we’re still in final stages of getting an agreement. We’re confident that we’re going to receive this (additional) funding. We’ve hit all the requirements of the (Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund) application,” said Tracy Graham, the city’s chief financial officer.

To qualify for the added federal funding, city council was required to create bylaws that allow four housing units to be built on a single residential lot to streamline new housing construction, which is now in place. Securing the federal funding increase also required the province to increase its contribution to the project, Graham noted.

The new rates will provide relief for Winnipeg water and sewer ratepayers, since the city had expected steep hikes to raise revenue if senior government funding didn’t budge, said council’s finance chairman.

“It is good news. The spike we saw in rates earlier this year is not desirable or an easy thing for water ratepayers (with) the cost of everything going up. It was a bit of a rate shock for folks, myself included,” said Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan).

On April 1, city sewer rates rose $18.67 per month for the typical home, an additional charge of $168.03 for the rest of the year.

A new report on proposed rates for 2026 and 2027 is expected next month.

“I think that when we see the rate report, the worst of these spikes, I think, is done. I (expect) much flatter rates going forward because of this (cost-sharing). It’s certainly appreciated that both Canada and the province have stepped up on Phase 2,” said Browaty.

“It’s new information but we’re still in final stages of getting an agreement. We’re confident that we’re going to receive this (additional) funding.”

While the exact impact on sewer rates isn’t clear yet, an anti-poverty advocate said many Winnipeggers would benefit from the latest funding plan.

“It is good news that all levels of government (appear to be) stepping up to pay for these needed improvements, which will give more assurances to low- and moderate-income homeowners and renters … Every little bit helps for people on very tight budgets,” said Molly McCracken, provincial chairwoman of Make Poverty History Manitoba.

McCracken noted higher rate hikes can be used to justify larger rent increases, which can be extremely difficult for low-income people and seniors on fixed incomes to pay, especially as the price of groceries and other essentials rises.

“Certainly, low-income (people) and seniors on fixed incomes are getting pinched at every side,” she said.

In addition to creating “much less pressure” on water and sewer rates, the expected cost-sharing agreement should free up room to fund additional projects, said Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital).

“Certainly, there seems to be a lot less pressure under the debt ceiling, if we don’t have to go borrow that $300 million… hopefully, we can get some (other) projects across the finish line,” he said.

Mayes hopes to secure $5 million to $8 million to start construction on the first phase of a Bonavista recreation centre. The city set aside $5 million for that phase of work, which is expected to cost about $13 million, he said.

However, Browaty said the city has a long line of priority capital projects waiting for funding, such as the expansion of Kenaston Boulevard, and many sewage upgrade costs still to cover.

“I think that when we see the rate report, the worst of these spikes, I think, is done.”

“This is certainly not an opportunity (to spend more). We still have $1.5 billion worth of work to finish all the work at the North End sewage treatment plant (including the third unfunded phase),” he said.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

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.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.