Watson hopeful for Ottawa River project funding

Ottawas mayor said Thursday he is "hopeful" a $250-million project to clean up the Ottawa River will be finished in time for Canadas 150th birthday, despite no federal funding until 2014.

The city is getting $600-million in federal funds for public transit, afterit indicatedto Ottawa-area MP John Bairdthat transit was the city's top priority.

The Ottawa River Action Planwhich includes building massive underground storm water storage tanks to address the problem of combined sewer overflowswould not be receiving federal funding until the next round of infrastructure spending in 2014.

Mayor Jim Watson said although he would have liked a quicker start to the project, he said he is pleased it would at least be receiving funding at some point.

"While I would like to see the project move faster, I am heartened but the fact that [Baird] has indicated he will be willing to fund the second round of infrastructure funding that starts in 2014," Watson said.

"It's still a dream of mine that that would be the kind of legacy project for our sesquicentennial andit's still feasible if we get the federal government and province on board."

Watson said he has already met with provincial politicians and will soon meet with Ottawa-area members of parliament to firm up that funding commitment.

A spokesman with Baird's office said the federal government started the clean up of the Ottawa River by getting the city $33 million to help stop 65 per cent of the river's overflow.

Joseph Lavoie said if Watson wanted to redirect some money dedicated towards transit to the river clean-up, the federal government would be open to the idea.

"The federal government is open to considering redirecting some of our government's transit contribution to the Ottawa River Action Plan should the city now be identifying that as its priority," Lavoie said in a statement.