News Release - March 9, 2018

News Release - March 9, 2018

Wastewater Upgrade Receives $6 Million Federal Gas Tax Funds

Each year, the Government of Canada provides over $278 million in funding for local government infrastructure across British Columbia through the Federal Gas Tax Fund. The Union of BC Municipalities administers the Federal Gas Tax Fund in British Columbia in partnership with the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) has recently been approved for up to $6 Million in funding from the Federal Gas Tax Fund to complete the $81.7 Million Secondary Treatment Upgrade project at the Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre. The project is well underway and on schedule. The major excavation and ground stabilization is nearing completion, and concrete foundations for buildings are being installed. Over the next several months, the process tanks and equipment will be installed, leading to startup in 2020.

"This important project is the largest in the RDN's history, and will provide improved effluent quality, protect our environment and provide treatment capacity for the future." said Chair Veenhof. "We are very pleased and appreciative to receive federal funds to assist in completing this project for our region. This is a great example of federal, provincial and regional levels of government working collaboratively together to improve services for our residents."

"Congratulations to the Regional District for securing this funding through a partnership with all levels of government," said Leonard Krog, MLA for Nanaimo. "We don't always think about it, but improving sewage treatment is important for our quality of life and is the responsible thing to do for our environment."

"Communities across BC are looking for funding to replace, upgrade and expand local infrastructure, said Director Wendy Booth, President, Union of BC Municipalities. "The federal Gas Tax Fund is accelerating the pace of infrastructure renewal through the transfer of close to $3 billion since 2005 for projects in our province. I appreciate the Government of Canada's long-term commitment to fund priorities identified by BC local governments."

Construction work at 4600 Hammond Bay Road can be viewed live at the RDN's website. The live feed is compatible with mobile devices, and shows a high resolution video of the work underway. We encourage the community to take the following steps to watch our live construction feed:

  1. Go to www.rdn.bc.ca/secondary-treatment-upgrade-project
  2. Click on the image with the red arrow to watch the construction live stream
  3. Currently when you view the live stream you will see:
    1. (On the left) Blasting, and hammering, and removal of rock to make space for the new process facilities
    2. (Centre) Ground improvements - the installation of gravel columns in the earth to protect the new process facilities from seismic conditions
    3. (On the right) Excavation for future bioreactors and clarifiers to improve the quality of effluent leaving the plant
To see all projects approved through this intake visit: news.gov.bc.ca/16553.

To learn more about the federal Gas Tax Fund visit: www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/gtf-fte-eng.html.

More overall project information please visit www.rdn.bc.ca/gnpcc, and to watch a video showing the design stages of the project for the Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre please visit www.rdn.bc.ca/secondary-treatment-upgrade-project.

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Contact:

Randy Alexander
General Manager, Regional & Community Utilities
Regional District of Nanaimo
250-390-6543
ralexander [at] rdn.bc.ca (ralexander[at]rdn[dot]bc[dot]ca)