New lift stations set for WWTPs in Nova Scotia, British Columbia

Two small Nova Scotia communities and the British Columbia District of Sechelt have received funding for wastewater upgrades, Infrastructure Canada has announced.

In both Kings County, N.S, and Sechelt, B.C., the communities will use the funding to build new lift stations for their wastewater treatment plants.

For Kings County, an agriculturally-driven community of some 10,000 residents, the funding will replace four lift stations and help construct one new lift station, as well as a 1.35-kilometre gravity sewer infrastructure extension. The project will increase the overall efficiency of the system and support new higher density housing development for the community on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, federal officials announced.

In Sechelt, the project will increase the district’s capacity to treat wastewater by closing the existing Wakefield lift station and replacing it with a new lift station to protect the nearby Strait of Georgia from accidental discharges.

The new investment, bolstered by local contributions, will also build a temporary bypass lift station during construction and remove the existing station and kiosks. The pump station will be raised, and a retaining wall will be installed to mitigate the impacts of tidal action on the facility. Further project works include the installation of electronic flow meters that will continuously transmit data to the SCADA system and a standby generator. The investment will also improve the existing beach access and viewpoint for the Trail Bay Island, and will tie the lift station into Sechelt’s SCADA system.

A joint investment of $914,288 has been announced for the project.

“Once completed, Sechelt’s new lift station will provide reliable, high-quality wastewater treatment for the district, while keeping effluent out of local waterways,” announced Patrick Weiler, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country.

More than $10.5 million in joint funding has been announced for the Nova Scotia community projects, which also aims to benefit the Village of Canning, N.S., a community of less than 1,000 residents. Local officials will use the new funding to create a more reliable water and wastewater system by replacing more than 1,200 metres of water distribution main lines, some 1,300 metres of sanitary sewer lines, and more than 800 metres of storm sewer lines.

“The Canning Village Commission is very pleased with the level of intergovernmental cooperation resulting in the proactive and methodic strengthening of this core service,” announced Canning Commission Chair Angela Cruickshank.

The Government of Canada’s funding comes from the Green Infrastructure Stream and the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.