Money from all levels of government will be going towards rehabilitating the foreshore sanitary sewer main in Salmon Arm.
A total of $1,716,000 is being devoted to the project. The provincial government is contributing $858,000, $566,280 is coming from the federal government and the City of Salmon Arm is contributing $291,720.
“This is a critical application that we have been waiting for and hoping for,” said Salmon Arm coun. Tim Lavery.
Salmon Arm secured their portion of the funding to repair the sewer in 2014, but had an infrastructure funding grant application meant to cover the remainder of the project denied in 2015.
The state of the foreshore sewer was brought into focus in June 2012 when a leak in the almost 50-year-old pipe allowed water to infiltrate the system and wreaked havoc on the city’s sewage treatment plant. The leak may have been caused by flooding in the area. Six days passed before city crews were able to locate and repair the leak.
Now that funding has been made available the project’s anticipated start date is Dec. 15.
City of Salmon Arm chief information officer Carl Bannister said the sewer main has been an issue since 2012. He added the funds will allow the city to remediate the main between Raven and Appleyard.
The project will see 1,570 metres of asbestos concrete pipe that has reached its expected lifespan replaced using a cured-in-pipe relining, a technique which reduces environmental impact on the area by minimizing ground disturbance.
Bannsister said any projects on the foreshore will be undertaken in consultation with Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Ministry of Environment.
The funding was announced today by Amarjeet Sohi, federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Peter Fassbender, the B.C. government’s Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. 34 other projects across the province were also announced.