Larry Maguire, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris, and Drew Caldwell, Minister of Municipal Government, were joined Thursday, July 2 by Mayor Jeff McConnell at the wastewater treatment plant to announce the funding of up to $8 million for the second phase of construction for the wastewater treatment plant in Virden, under the New Building Canada Plan.
The project involves the construction of a secondary wastewater treatment plant in Virden to replace the former facility, which extended its useful life in 2012.
The new plant will improve the level of wastewater effluent prior to being discharged into Gopher Creek. It will help those downstream and enhance the local community. The new plant will also allow the town to reach provincial wastewater treatment standards and the federal Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations.
The New Building Canada Plan is the biggest and longest federal infrastructure plan in Canada’s History. This commitment is providing $53 billion to support provincial, territorial, and municipal infrastructure between 2014 and 2024.
The money for this new plant is coming off of the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component part of the New Building Canada Plan, which is $1 billion for projects in communities with fewer than 100,000 residents through the Small Communities Fund.
Jeff McConnell, Mayor of Virden, spoke to the crowd of media and workers in front of the old water treatment plant, “On behalf of the Town of Virden, I would like to thank the government of Canada and the province of Manitoba for their strong commitments to our community in funding Phase II of our wastewater treatment plant. Our region clearly has a strong potential for both economic growth and population growth. This growth requires robust community infrastructure to service the residents and businesses. By committing to the creation of a functional, clean and effective wastewater treatment facility, Virden and our community partners can continue to grow and flourish in a responsible and sustainable manner.”
