Can you imagine if the city shut down all new commercial, industrial and residential development for a week, a month or even a year?
It would spell disaster to economic growth, increase pressure on an already overstressed housing market and put people out of work. This stagnation would ultimately hit each and every Winnipegger in the pocketbook in one way or another as we all shouldered the cost of such a dramatic decline to our city.
Yet that is exactly where Winnipeg is heading within the next four to six years if urgent progress is not made on the second-phase upgrades to the north end sewage treatment plant. Capacity is nearing the edge, and if upgrades don’t happen on time, development will grind to a halt.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Construction of the new north end sewage treatment facility in Winnipeg during the summer. Without money to finish the project, other business and residential development in the city might have to be halted.
Without an ability to treat sewage, there can be no new homes, businesses or industrial activity added to the roster. This includes between 60 and 70 per cent of Winnipeg. It would also impact development in the neighbouring municipalities that have service-sharing agreements with Winnipeg for treating its wastewater at the north end sewage treatment plant, including the RMs of St. Andrews and Rosser. CentrePort, the largest inland port in North America, would also be greatly impacted under this apocalyptic scenario with its aggressive development plans grinding to a halt.
If this isn’t a wakeup call for urgently prioritizing upgrades to this biosolids “Phase 2” portion of the sewage plant overhaul, then I don’t know what is.
Two weeks ago, Mayor Scott Gillingham sounded the alarm that time is running out.
To be clear, Gillingham inherited this mess. Long before he became the city’s mayor, reports indicated that sewage capacity was nearing the edge.
In 2020, senior staff at Winnipeg’s water and waste departments recommended caution regarding service-sharing agreements Winnipeg has with its bordering municipalities. They said the rapid expansion plans within these municipalities, coupled with the city’s targeted growth, are cause for concern in reaching capacity limits sooner than originally predicted at the outdated treatment plant.
To that end, all three levels of government worked to secure funding on the biosolids plant upgrades. With this much-needed Phase 2 work long overdue, and with the city out of compliance with its Environment Act Licence regarding nutrient removal, and with costs escalating at every turn, a $552-million announcement was finally made in August 2022. Construction on this second phase was slated to begin in 2025 with a completion date of 2030.
For one brief, shining moment, it looked as though the stars would align with the upgraded treatment plant coming online just before any capacity threshold was reached.
Yet any congratulatory backslapping for having finally achieved a deal was short lived, with project costs rapidly escalating by an additional $360 million for Phase 2.
This escalating price tag was attributed to a larger scope, inflation and higher construction cost. Today, those costs have soared again, and the total price tag for this phase now sits at $1.035 billion.
All three levels of government are needed back at the drawing board to come up with the shortfall. So far, the only one to pony up additional dollars is the NDP government with a $30-million commitment made last week. The total contribution from the province, including the amount announced in 2022 plus this additional $30 million, now stands at $197.4 million. It’s not enough, by any stretch, but is being touted by the premier as an incremental contribution to entice the federal government to the table to help address the remaining $400-million shortfall.
The critic for the PCs, my former party, is calling the $30 million a drop in the bucket. Fair enough. Yet, it must be said that the swiftness in which these additional dollars were provided is noteworthy. Using this “carrot” approach with funding partners is also refreshing. For everyone’s sake, let’s hope it works.
To date, there has been no word from the federal Liberals on additional dollars. With a federal election call right around the corner, this needs to be one of the most significant priorities for Manitoba voters heading to the polls.
Personally, I won’t even consider voting for a candidate who doesn’t include in their party platform an unequivocal commitment to additional dollars for the Phase 2 upgrades and a willingness to advance onto the third and final phase.
If the health of Lake Winnipeg and the entire watershed isn’t enough motivation to complete this project, then perhaps the grinding halt to our economy will be.
Rochelle Squires is a recovering politician after 7 1/2 years in the Manitoba legislature. She is a political and social commentator whose column appears Tuesdays.
Rochelle Squires
Columnist
Rochelle Squires is a recovering politician after serving 7½ years in the Manitoba legislature. She is a political and social commentator whose column appears Tuesdays.
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