$29.8M rolled out for water projects on P.E.I.

Fourteencommunities across P.E.I. will be getting funding from the federal and provincial governments to fund municipal water and wastewater projects through the federal Clean Water and Wastewater Fund.

In total,26 projects were announced Friday, receiving combined federal and provincial funding of $29,848,731.The Government of Canada is contributing $19,899,154, which is expected to be 50 per centof the total eligible costs, with the province providing a further $9,949,577. The municipalities will provide the remainder of the funding.

"By pooling our resources, the federal and provincial governments combined with municipalities and community partners can make important investments that protect our province, safeguard the environment anddeliver reliable supplies of safe drinking water," said Premier Wade MacLauchlan in a news release.

More than half of the funding, $15,015,000, will go to Charlottetown for four projects.

The biggest chunk of that is for the previously-announced expansion of the Charlottetown Pollution Control Plant.

• Stratford and Charlottetown consolidate sewage treatment

Under the plan, Stratford will close its sewage treatment facility and pipe its wastewater across the river to Charlottetown. Charlottetown will also close a sewage lagoon in East Royalty.

Summersidewill receive $5,172,950 for six separate projects.

Small towns, environmentalists applaud funds

Smaller municipalities won out in the announcement too, including Murray Harbour, which is getting $2,280,102 for upgrades and an extension to the village's sewer system.

"We're excited about all the people that have been moving into our area and this is development for the future," said council Chair Garry Herring

Georgetown's funds of $112,500 have gone towards putting in upgrades as well, including a new well, that has added more than just clean water said MayorLewis Lavandier.

"It helped create new industry down there with our timber yard because they're going to tie into this new well and that creates industrial development and certainly it goes a long way to help us in the area and we're pretty excited about that."

Environmental groups are also excited about old waste water systems getting an upgrade. They say the old systems are having trouble keeping up with the major weather events P.E.I. has been seeing in recent years.

"Those systems can't accommodate that water and so what's happening is that we're getting a lot of run off in a bigger way," said Jackie Bourgeois, head of the Southeast Environmental Association

Most of the municipalities have started on design work and a number have gone or are goingto tender for the construction. Several expect to break ground this summer.

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