Today, the Honourable Heather Stefanson, Premier of Manitoba; Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities; Honourable Reg Helwer, Manitoba Minister of Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services; and His Worship, Brian Bowman, Mayor of the City of Winnipeg, announced a joint investment of over $550 million for the second phase of upgrades to the North End Sewage Treatment Plant in Winnipeg.
The North End Sewage Treatment Plant is Winnipeg's oldest and largest sewage facility, processing 70 percent of the city's wastewater. With a fast-growing population and enhanced environmental protections, the City of Winnipeg is moving forward with Phase 2 of a three-phased initiative to ensure that the highest wastewater treatment standards are met.
Phase 2 of the North End Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrades project will see construction of new infrastructure and upgrades to the Biosolids Facilities, which will store and treat sludge produced from the treatment of wastewater to convert it into biosolids, a nutrient-rich product that can be safely re-used as fertilizer or soil. The new facilities will also be used to convert sludge from the City's other two wastewater treatment plants into biosolids, diverting it from the landfill and will include sufficient capacity to facilitate the City of Winnipeg's interim phosphorous removal plan to meet Environmental Act Licence requirements.
In 2021, the City of Winnipeg secured federal and provincial funding for Phase 1 of the North End Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrades project, which involved improvements to the Headworks Facilities. The upgrades to the Headworks and Biosolids Facilities are key steps in extending the plant's service life, supporting population and economic growth and reaching environmental compliance ultimately improving the health of Lake Winnipeg, one of Manitoba's greatest treasures.
