Funding announced for Cartier Water Co-op project

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This article was published 26/06/2014 (4343 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The federal and provincial governments and Cartier Regional Water Co-op members are paying up to a total of $43.5 million to extend water service into the RMs of Rockwood and Rosser, including CentrePort Canada.

This will solve the current problem of how to supply water to larger businesses which want to locate in the western section of CentrePort within the RM of Rosser, and which can’t depend solely on well water due to fire safety regulations. The City of Winnipeg can’t extend its water service to the area now because of an international water dispute that could take years to resolve.

Federal minister responsible for Manitoba Shelly Glover, provincial minister of municipal government Stan Struthers, and Rosser reeve Frances Smee announced funding for Phase 1 of the Cartier Regional Water Co-operative Expansion on June 25.

“The cost will be divided up among the partners,” Smee said.

This project includes: construction of a new water treatment plant on the Assiniboine River in the RM of Headingley, which will be designed to accommodate an additional expansion in the future; the installation of a pipeline from Headingley into the western section of CentrePort that lies within the RM of Rosser; and the construction of a pump house and a reservoir in the RM of Rosser.

According to a news release, 2,000 existing households will be connected to a treated municipal water supply, as well as the Headingley Correctional Centre and industries located in CentrePort Canada. The project will also enable the connection of future residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial developments throughout the region, one of which is Stony Mountain Institution.

Smee said no businesses other than those located within CentrePort will be connected to the new service when it is first developed, but she feels the project will benefit the municipality.

“It’s a huge benefit to bring the water services into the CentrePort area,” she said. “We see this as an endorsement of the CentrePort plan working.”

The news release stated that the federal government is conditionally setting aside up to one-third of eligible costs, to a maximum of $14.5 million for this project. The province will provide one-third of funding for the project under its $5.5-billion, five-year plan to invest in core infrastructure, including roads, bridges, clean water projects and flood protection. The Cartier Regional Water Co-operative Inc. and the municipalities benefiting from the project will provide the final one-third of funding.

The Cartier Regional Water Co-op currently provides potable water to rural residents and communities located in the municipalities of Cartier, Grey, Headingley, Portage la Prairie, Rockwood, Rosser, St. Francois Xavier and to the Headingley Correctional Centre.

Members of the Cartier Regional Water Co-op Board passed a resolution on Aug. 15, 2013 approving in principle the construction of a new water treatment plant in the RM of Headingley estimated to provide 120 litres of water per second.

The board members agreed that the co-op will pay up to $3 million of the plant’s cost. It will provide additional capacity and a secondary supply source for the seven municipalities.

Dave Shwaluk, acting general manager with the Manitoba Water Services Board, said a tender is being issued for the water treatment plant’s construction, with tenders for the pipeline and the pump house and reservoir to follow. Plant construction is likely to start in September and is expected to take about 18 months.

Shwaluk said the entire project should be completed by April 2016.

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