Premier Christy Clark announced today at the Union of B.C. Municipalities 2016 Conference $148.5 million in provincial funding for the new Clean Water and Wastewater Fund.

This funding will enable communities to move ahead with vitally important improvements to their water and wastewater systems, help make sure residents enjoy safe and reliable access to drinking water, improve environmental protection, and assist local governments in their efforts to comply with senior government regulations. Clean water and wastewater management are core services upon which communities can grow, helping ensure sustainability principles are met while improving community vibrancy, resilience and attractiveness.

The Clean Water and Wastewater Fund is an infrastructure program that will enable critical investments in local government infrastructure to get underway, specifically supporting long term benefits in the rehabilitation of water, wastewater and stormwater systems, and for the planning and design of future facilities and upgrades to existing wastewater systems.

All local governments throughout the province are eligible to apply for funding. Approved projects will be cost shared 50% by the Government of Canada and 33% by the Province of British Columbia, with the remaining 17% contribution coming from the local government. This agreement will be finalized on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, prior to the conclusion of the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in Victoria.

The Government of Canada introduced the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund in Budget 2016 to improve local government infrastructure in categories of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater as well as project planning and design.

Sufficient and up-to-date public infrastructure enables communities throughout British Columbia to attract investment, businesses and citizens, to support good local jobs and to remain as great places to live, work, play and visit.         

Press play again to access content from youtube.com. For more information, please read our Privacy statement.

Always allow content from youtube.com

Your preference will be saved using cookies.

Quotes:

Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia –

“Water and wastewater infrastructure is essential to keeping waterways clean and communities healthy. This funding will support local governments in creating essential public infrastructure that future generations will depend on.”

Learn More:

To learn more about the federal program, visit: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/cwwf/cwwf-program-programme-eng.html