Sewer upgrades for Elmwood

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/01/2020 (2317 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Welcome to 2020, Elmwood. I hope you and your families had a safe and joyful holiday season. 

On Dec. 18, I had the pleasure to have a “meet and greet” with 52 Grade 9 students from Miles MacDonnell under the direction of their teachers Calvin Moore and Martin Riley. During this visit, the students had a tour of the Manitoba Legislature. The building holds many secrets and it’s always fun to pass along a few of its hidden features to visitors. Thank you to the teachers who organized this trip and to the Legislative Tour Office for a great day. 

My last community report identified two major City of Winnipeg infrastructure projects affecting Elmwood residents that require action on the part of the province. Namely, the replacement of the Louise Bridge — the plans for which we are looking forward to seeing this year — and the replacement of our combined sewer system.

The issue of the sewer system will be top of mind with high water levels on the Red River, and the increased potential for runoff problems with the upcoming spring melt.

Older parts of Winnipeg, including Elmwood, have a combined sewer system where frequent rain events result in raw sewage being added to the runoff which flows into the Red River and eventually into Lake Winnipeg. 

As an important aside, there are also expensive upgrades required for the City’s related projects including the North End Sewage Treatment Plant which has a price tag near $1 billion.

In response to a provincial directive to act, the City is now trying to figure out how it will meet the target agreed to by the province of an “85 per cent combined sewer overflow volume capture in a representative year selected by the Province.”

The City’s combined sewer master plan will be implemented over several decades at an estimated cost of $2.3 billion in 2019 dollars. As you can plainly see, this huge, costly, and much needed infrastructure project will need the financial support of both the province and federal government. 

For more information on the combined sewer master plan, please visit the City of Winnipeg website at https://winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/sewage/csoMasterPlan.stm

In the meantime, if you have any questions or need more information, please call my office at 204-415-1122, or email me at Jim.Maloway@YourManitoba.ca

Jim Maloway
Elmwood MLA constituency report

Jim Maloway is the NDP MLA for Elmwood.

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