Better water coming to West St. Paul
RM of West St. Paul acts to improve water quality and quality of life
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/08/2016 (3575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The RM of West St. Paul is working on the third phase of a new project that will improve the community’s water quality and should bring more businesses to the area.
So far, the RM has been the only community in the Capital Region that doesn’t have potable water, but that’s about to change.
The federal government is providing $49,025,000 and will be covering up to 50 per cent of the cost for 23 projects in Manitoba under the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund. The provincial government is also providing $24,512,500 or 25 per cent of the projects’ costs.
This funding is part of the first phase of Investing in Canada, the federal government’s $120 billion plan to support public infrastructure across the country over the next 10 years.
The water supply project in West St. Paul is one of the projects that will proceed thanks to this funding.
“It’s 2016, it’s a reality, it’s a necessity that current and future generations have safe, abundant drinking water,” West St. Paul mayor Bruce Henley said.
West St. Paul is receiving $3,000,000 and $1,500,000 from the federal and provincial governments respectively to finish the third phase of its water supply project — a reservoir and pumping station. Henley added that the community received federal funding for all three phases of the project.
This month, West St. Paul is working on installation of pipe to bring water from the Rosser reservoir to West St. Paul. Following that, the RM will start building its own reservoir and pumping station.
Project for new developments
Currently, the primary challenge for large businesses and real estate developments in West St. Paul is the lack of pressurized water. Companies are not allowed to operate without pressurized water because it weakens their firefighting capabilities.
New businesses will allow the municipality to gain extra tax revenue that will provide funds for new developments, resulting in reduced municipal taxes. “Pressurized water is critical to moving forward as a society, and it’s going to allow so many different opportunities for West St. Paul than ever existed in the past,” he said, adding Seven Oaks School Division wants to build more schools in the community but won’t do it unless it has pressurized, potable water and sewer services.
The potential of boil-water advisories interferes in real estate sales because banks and lending agencies do not grant mortgages in risky areas.
Poor water quality in West St. Paul
Another water issue West St. Paul has to deal with is the fact that the municipality is located in the Rockwood Sensitive Area.
A chemical product called Trichloroethylene (TCE) was discovered in groundwater beneath an industrial site known as the Rockwood Plant, located close to Stony Mountain Penitentiary.
TCE is used as a solvent to remove grease from metal parts. It is a transparent liquid with a sweet odour and sweet, burning taste.
“There’s people in our community that may not even realize that they are sitting and residing in an area that has been deemed the Rockwood Sensitive (Area),” Henley said.
TCE can cause kidney damage and increases the risk of heart defects in a developing fetus if a pregnant woman is exposed to it in the first trimester. In the long-term, it can cause cancer, most commonly kidney cancer.
Health Canada determined the acceptable concentration of TCE to be 0.005 milligrams per litre. This standard will keep people protected from the health risks.
Henley said test results show that the West St. Paul water is considered to be poor quality.
West St. Paul chief administrative officer Brent Olynyk said this project is a way of addressing a health and safety issue.
The mayor thinks it’s important to take the government funding to start these projects now because this money may not be available in the future.
“We (the municipal council) would be looking rather stupid or incompetent if we didn’t take advantage of it now and five years from now, or five weeks from now, we had a situation that required attention and we didn’t have the money when it had been available,” Henley said.