The water treatment plant in Rainy River, Ont. will soon have upgrades put into place after a provincial investment of $2,074,000. The provincial funding will allow the town to replace outdated system hardware without placing heavy debt on the town, Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford said while visiting the facility on Feb. 12.
Funding is being drawn from the Health and Safety Water Stream (HSWS), a component of Ontario’s $4 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP). HSWS is investing up to $875 million towards 127 municipalities and First Nations communities across Ontario.
“As we’ve heard from First Nations chiefs and mayors throughout the Kenora-Rainy River District, they’d have to take on a lot of debt if it wasn’t for this stream,” Rickford said. “We’re really pleased that we’ve done well in this round of funding. This isn’t just about fixing what exists, it’s about building capacity so our communities can grow.”
“It would have put them in into serious debt, and some of them would have had to make decisions about their ultimate capacity for wastewater treatment for future growth,” he said.
The upgrades will see both replacements to outdated equipment and switches to more efficient systems.
“As I understand it, they’re going to be installing a new generator, replacing motors on turbine pumps for energy efficiencies, control panel modernization, filtration enhancements, a new furnace installation and computer system,” Rickford said.
Overall responsible operator of the plant, Leroy Hancharyk, explained the need for the system upgrades is urgent.
“We need a new generator for backup power, ours is on its last legs,” he said. “We also need new chemical pumps and upgrades with our electronics for the ministry. We’re maxed out for alarms, we can’t put any more inputs in, so we need to upgrade that system.”
Before visiting Rainy River, Rickford also made stops in La Vallee and Stratton, Ont., where he made announcements of funding towards renovations at the Devlin Community Hall in La Vallee (see A5 for the story) and upgrades for the community pasture in Stratton.
