Dave joins others in ribbon cutting of the new Ridgetown wastewater treatment plant

May 14, 2010

FCM’s Green Municipal Fund supports the Municipality of Chatham-Kent’s Ridgetown Wastewater Treatment Plant Project
   
May 14, 2010, Chatham-Kent, Ont. – Percy Hatfield, member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) National Board of Directors and councillor, City of Windsor, Ont., and Dave Van Kesteren, member of Parliament for Chatham-Kent–Essex, today announced Green Municipal Fund (GMF) loan and grant contributions for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. The municipality put the $2.4 million in funding toward the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant at the site of Ridgetown’s current wastewater lagoon facility in order to improve treatment capacity and discharge quality.

“FCM’s Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments,” said Mr. Hatfield. “The financing and knowledge provided by the Fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.”

“The Government of Canada is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment for Canadians through the Green Municipal Fund,” said Mr. Van Kesteren. “Today’s announcement is another example of how our government — in partnership with FCM, and all orders of government — is helping the
Municipality of Chatham-Kent build a greener future for our citizens.”

The new treatment plant has a new raw sewage pump station, has adapted two of the existing lagoon cells to store biosolids and handle excess water, and has shut down the lagoon cells that are no longer needed. The new facility also provides a third level of water treatment using sand filters and UV disinfection. These upgrades will reduce E. coli concentrations in the water discharged into the environment by 35 per cent, reduce phosphorus by 33 per cent, and reduce nitrogen, fine suspended particles and microbes, as well as disease-causing organisms and viruses. UV disinfection replaces the use of chemicals and eliminates chlorine released into the environment. Use of the two lagoon cells to store excess water reduces the amount of water that bypasses the plant during wet weather. The new plant provides an immediate increase in treatment capacity of 50 per cent, allows for further expansion in the future, and will support population and economic growth in the community of Ridgetown.

“Our aim is to be the fastest growing sustainable community in southwestern Ontario”, said Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope, “and the development and application of leading-edge environmental technology is an essential part of our strategy.”

This project is an exciting example of how funding from GMF can be stacked against funding from other programs — in this case, $2.6 million in funding under the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF) — to improve municipal infrastructure.

The Government of Canada endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal Fund. The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.



CHATHAM-KENT CELEBRATES COMPLETION OF UPGRADES TO RIDGETOWN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

May 14, 2010, CHATHAM-KENT, ON. — The Municipality of Chatham-Kent today celebrated the upgrades to the Ridgetown Wastewater Treatment Plant.  Dave Van Kesteren, Member of Parliament for Chatham-Kent-Essex; Pat Hoy, Member of Provincial Parliament for Chatham-Kent-Essex; and Randy Hope, Mayor of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, are pleased to see this important project reach completion. 

Improvements to the wastewater treatment plant included replacing the existing treatment facility with a conventional sewage treatment plant to improve the effluent quality, and constructing a septage receiving facility. The upgraded facility is an example of all three levels of governments’ commitment to protecting the local natural environment.

The governments of Canada and Ontario each committed up to $2,666,666 to the project. The Municipality of Chatham-Kent will contribute the balance of the total eligible cost of up to $8,000,000.

“Local infrastructure projects like this one improve quality of life of residents and visitors, as well as contribute to a more sustainable environment” said MP Van Kesteren. “Our government is supporting these types of projects through Canada’s Economic Action Plan as they create jobs and build stronger communities.” 

“I’m pleased that all governments are working together to modernize infrastructure, to create a competitive advantage that attracts business,” said MPP Hoy. “Improving community infrastructure is a key part of our government’s Open Ontario plan to strengthen our economy and create jobs – which will help provide the people of Chatham-Kent – and people across Ontario – with a quality of life that is second to none.”

“With the support of both the federal and provincial government, Chatham-Kent is pleased to be implementing another major enhancement to our infrastructure, further equipping the Municipality to meet the demands of our growing community,” said Mayor Hope.

Under the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF), the governments of Canada and Ontario are working together with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and local partners to respond to local needs through infrastructure upgrades providing clean, safe drinking water, better sewage systems, improved waste management processes, safer local roads and bridges, as well as other health and safety priorities.