The City of Charlottetown today celebrated the groundbreaking of the first of four phases to divide the remaining portion of the Spring Park combined storm and sanitary sewer system into two separate systems.
“In addition to creating jobs and supporting the local economy, this project will help to protect shellfish and marine life in Charlottetown Harbour for future generations,” said the Honourable Gail Shea, Regional Minister for Prince Edward Island and Minister of National Revenue. “Our government is proud to invest in infrastructure improvements for a cleaner environment and contribute to the long-term health and prosperity of Prince Edward Islanders.”
“The Government of Prince Edward Island is pleased to support the infrastructure priorities of Island communities to help protect our environment, provide residents with efficient and safe services, and grow our economy,” said Robert Vessey, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal for Prince Edward Island. “This project will see significant improvements made to the health of the Charlottetown Harbour, which will benefit the local shellfish industry and all residents.”
“This project is a priority for the City of Charlottetown because of our desire to clean up our harbour, protect the shellfish industry and be a good environmental steward,” said Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee. “The work follows upgrades to the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and the separation of the Brighton Combined Sewer. This builds on the City’s plan to improve wastewater management in Charlottetown. Since 2001, the City has invested in excess of $26 million, including funding from other sources, to improve wastewater management. The City looks forward to working with the federal and provincial governments to secure funding for the final two phases of this project.”
Phase I of the project will remove sanitary sewage from the combined sewer system, divert it to the wastewater treatment plant and greatly reduce the impact of wastewater effluent on the harbour. Phase II will address separation work in the northwest section of the combined system, which will mostly impact the west side of Spring Park Road.
The City of Charlottetown will direct $2 million of its federal Gas Tax Fund allocation and invest an additional $4 million to the first two phases of the project. The Province of Prince Edward Island is also contributing $3 million to this project.
Canada’s Gas Tax Fund provides stable, long-term funding to local governments to help them build and improve public infrastructure. In December 2011, the Government of Canada passed legislation to make the Gas Tax Fund a permanent annual investment of $2 billion per year. Since 2010, the Government of Canada, through the Gas Tax Fund alone, provides $15 million in funding annually for municipal infrastructure in Prince Edward Island.
Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2012 focuses on creating new opportunities for jobs and growth, and ensuring long-term prosperity for Canadians. Strengthening infrastructure across the country is an important part of this plan. Thanks to the Government of Canada’s leadership, and our strong economic and financial fundamentals, the Canadian economy has recovered from the global recession better than most other industrialized countries. Canada has been a leader among G-7 countries throughout the recovery, with more than 765,000 net new jobs created since July 2009. Find out more about the opportunities in Economic Action Plan 2012 at www.budget.gc.ca/2012/home-accueil-eng.html.
For further information on infrastructure investments in Prince Edward Island, visit www.infrastructure.gc.ca and www.gov.pe.ca.
Stay up-to-date with Infrastructure Canada Web feeds at www.infrastructure.gc.ca.
BACKGROUNDER
The City of Charlottetown is breaking ground on a project to resolve the operational and environmental issues associated with combined sewer overflows. The Spring Park Project has been divided into four phases to be completed over a three-year period. Once complete in 2014, sanitary sewage will no longer enter Charlottetown Harbour from the city’s wastewater system.
Phase 1 has three parts:
• The installation of a 600 mm diameter gravity trunk sewer main along Pownal Street and Water Street. This main will receive sanitary flows pumped from the Spring Park and Brighton sewer sheds, and convey these flows to the existing Navy Quay sewage pumping station.
• The installation of a new sewer forcemain pipe along Brighton Road, Rochford, Fitzroy Queen, Euston and Pownal streets.
• The installation of a new sewage pumping station being in the Desbrisay Park area, as well as upgrades to the existing Brighton pumping station.
Work for phases 2, 3 and 4 will include the installation of new gravity sewer mains and services throughout the Spring Park sewer shed. The new mains will convey sanitary flows to the new Desbrisay pumping station.
The City of Charlottetown will direct $2 million of its federal Gas Tax Fund allocation and invest an additional $4 million to the first two phases of the project. The Province of Prince Edward Island is also contributing $3 million to this project.