Residents of Saskatoon will soon benefit from $102 million in joint funding for 11 green infrastructure projects, including upgrades to drinking water and wastewater systems, federal and provincial officials announced last week.
The city of about 274,000 residents will also see improvements to solid waste management, sidewalk expansion, and a new solar power plant under the new funding, which comes through sources such as the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
The most expensive project under the new funding will be for the $12.6-million twinning of two new forcemains at the Wastewater Treatment Plant North 40, where biosolids will be conveyed to the City of Saskatoon’s North 40 Biosolids Handling Facility. The N40 facilities include five deep cells, two decant cells, a supernatant pumping station and dedicated return line, and numerous drying beds. The City of Saskatoon H. McIvor Weir Wastewater Treatment Plant operates as a biological nutrient removal facility.
In other water news for the city, $1.3 million of the new funding will be used to replace three kilometres of water distribution pipeline to continue to provide reliable and sustainable service to neighbouring communities.
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
The latest environmental engineering news direct to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Another $7.2 million will be used to construct a new lift station as the existing one is at the end of its service life.
Additionally, $3.2 million will be reserved to construct eight kilometres of ditch and right-of-way crossings to improve surface drainage and reduce flooding in the heavily residential neighbourhood of Montgomery Place.
“Infrastructure projects like these not only protect the local economy as it recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also help build a strong and growing province,” announced Saskatchewan’s Government Relations Minister Don McMorris.
The province is investing more than $34.3 million toward these projects, while the City of Saskatoon is providing $25.8 million to support seven of them.
Waste management is also a key focus under the new funding with $7.8 million earmarked to build a new waste recovery and transfer facility for Saskatoon. The city also plans to use $3.2 million of the new funding to reduce landfill emissions of greenhouse gases by expanding the city’s landfill gas collection, flaring system and power generation plant.
Saskatoon is also looking to shrink its carbon footprint by building a $1.4-million solar power generation facility that will be connected to Saskatoon Light and Power’s grid to help reduce community greenhouse gas emissions.
“The funding announced today will help communities build back better, create jobs, and build cleaner, more inclusive communities,” announced Jim Carr, the Government of Canada’s Special Representative for the Prairies.
