The Nova Scotia Town of Bridgewater says three critical wastewater system upgrades supported by $69.4 million in project cost sharing will enable the development of some 3,000 new housing units in the community of nearly 9,000 residents, while significantly reducing flooding risks.
Bridgewater officials announced that the upgrades split nearly evenly between all three levels of government will support an overhaul of essential systems at the town’s wastewater treatment plant, improve several pump stations, and facilitate the replacement of combined sewers with separate stormwater and sanitary sewer systems.
“This investment by all three levels of government in the future of Bridgewater’s wastewater infrastructure is critical in so many ways – our ability to accommodate new residential and commercial developments will be substantially increased, and the health of the LaHave River watershed will be protected as outdated pump stations and wastewater mains are upgraded over the next several years to meet the standards of the 21st Century. As a community, we could not be more excited by this announcement,” said Mayor David Mitchell in a statement.
According to a department report, Bridgewater’s wastewater treatment plant employs three technical operators and has 14 sewage pump stations. The current plant has a capacity of 9,100 m³ per day and underwent a series of upgrades in 2018 and 2021.
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The latest upgrades will reduce the risk of damage from flooding caused by storms, which have previously caused sewer backups into homes and businesses and resulted in untreated sewage being discharged into the LaHave River.
Additionally, local officials anticipate that the upgrades will “directly unlock” more than 260 proposed housing units in the core of Bridgewater and “remove barriers” preventing the construction of more than 2,570 residential units.
These new upgrades are in addition to a $6.3-million provincial-municipal investment in water and wastewater upgrades for Bridgewater announced in May under the Municipal Capital Growth Program. In part, that funding provided new screening equipment for the town’s wastewater treatment plant to improve efficiency and overall treatment capacity.
