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$775-million wastewater project on track to be completed on time, within new budget

Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins praises public education aspect of project
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The core area wastewater treatment project board is confident the project will remain on track to be ready for testing midway through next year and operational by Dec. 31, 2020. (Photo via the Capital Regional District)

The new sewage treatment project in Greater Victoria is on track to be completed by December 2020 and within the modified $775-million budget.

On Wednesday evening, the Capital Regional District’s (CRD) core area liquid waste management committee met to discuss monthly and quarterly updates on the wastewater treatment project.

Don Fairburn, chair of the core area wastewater treatment project board, emphasized the project remains on track to be ready for testing midway through next year and be operational by Dec. 31, 2020.

At a meeting in May, the CRD board approved a budget increase of $10 million after a staff report indicated the project could not be completed within the original $765-million budget. The provincial and federal governments are contributing $459 million – 60 per cent of the original budget – to the project through various funding agreements.

The project board expects it will remain within the amended budget despite the fact that construction costs for the trent force main – an extension from the intersection of Chandler Avenue and St. Charles Street to the Clover Point pump station – remain undetermined.

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This latest update is good news said Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins, chair of the committee. Costs for the force main materials and contractors are expected to be known by the end of October, but she noted the project board is confident the costs have been factored into the amended budget. She referred to the project as “well-managed.”

Desjardins noted, in her opinion, one of the most important points brought up during Wednesday’s meeting was the public education aspect of the project. Residents whose homes are prone to flooding are being asked to have their pipes assessed by plumbers as sewage backups can raise costs and affect the environment, she explained.

This, she said, is a longstanding problem as pipes in Greater Victoria are getting older. In order to mitigate overflow issues, the CRD is asking outdated pipes on private properties be upgraded so that the new wastewater treatment project can be as efficient as possible.

An information booklet has been prepared by the CRD to help educate the public on the matter.


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devon.bidal@saanichnews.com