Residents of Whiskey Creek are getting a $435,000 upgrade to their water system after funding from the provincial and federal government was announced on Monday.
The Regional District of Nanaimo will upgrade the existing Whiskey Creek Water System to enhance treatment capacity. Work will include expanding the facility as well as upgrading piping, disinfection equipment, and electrical and control systems. The project will help provide area residents and businesses with improved reliability and water quality well into the future, according to a news release from the federal government.
The Whiskey Crteek project will cost $435,800. The provincial and federal governments said Monday they will each cover one-third of the cost ($145,000 each), with the RDN responsible for the remaining costs.
"We are proud to invest in projects like these water and wastewater improvements on Vancouver Island that will benefit our community by improving much needed local infrastructure," said Vancouver Island North MP John Duncan, the Chief Government Whip.
"Our Government's commitment to municipalities, big and small, has never been stronger. Through the New Building Canada Plan's Small Communities Fund, we are investing in priority infrastructure projects that have a positive and lasting impact on the quality of life of British Columbia's residents while helping create jobs and economic growth."
The same announcement Monday included funding for a $790,000 project in Alert Bay, where about one kilometre of outdated sewer pipes will be replaced with modern sewer mains, including the associated tie-ins and sewer connections. When completed, the governments said it will help reduce the village's sewer system operating and maintenance costs, which were rising due to more pipe collapses, and it will also reduce the handling of excess wastewater volumes resulting from infiltration into the failing system.
The projects announced today are among 55 recently approved in B.C. that will collectively receive more than $128 million in joint federal-provincial funding under the Small Communities Fund. The federal government said through a news release that these projects represent important investments in municipal infrastructure that maintain safe, healthy communities. Once complete, the work will significantly improve key municipal services for residents and help boost regional development.
— NEWS Staff/federal gov't news release