Water, wastewater hot topics for Chatham-Kent at ROMA

Chatham-Kent isn’t alone with respect to its water and wastewater challenges, delegates heard during this week’s Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference.

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Councilors and staff from across the province attended the annual event in Toronto to listen to expert panels, as well as ask questions from ministers.

“I found the plenary sessions (Tuesday) morning, Tackling Water and Wastewater Challenges in Rural Ontario, both relevant, timely and alarming,” Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey, one of the delegates, said.

“With the recent news from CK administration and (public utilities commission) that we are going to need close to $2 billion to renew and replace our aging water and wastewater infrastructure both this council term and next, learning about these same challenges facing rural communities across Ontario was particularly concerning.”

Also in attendance from Chatham-Kent were councilors Lauren Anderson, Michael Bondy, Amy Finn, Jamie McGrail, Brock McGregor and Morena McDonald.

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McGrail sits on the ROMA board representing Zone 1.

On the staff side, Ryan Brown, Chatham-Kent’s director of public works, was part of an infrastructure question and answer panel.

Storey said water and wastewater systems can’t be taken for granted, given residents and businesses rely on them every day.

“Our needs are growing, but our budget to pay for these needs is not,” she said. “I found the discussion was essentially raising the alarm bell that rural municipalities, with smaller populations but major infrastructure needs, need the province at the table to figure out the best financing and revenue tools to ensure we don’t face a critical failure in these systems.”

At the conference, which wrapped up Tuesday, the province announced additional measures to support rural communities.

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These include a new Rural Economic Development Strategy, announced by Minister of Rural Affairs Lisa Thompson, with $10 million in annual funding in a new program aimed at supporting economic growth, workforce capacity and business development.

“Our government believes in and is committed to enabling opportunity, which is the foundation from which we built Ontario’s rural economic development strategy,” Thompson said in a release. “Our plan to support rural Ontario reflects how our entire government is working together to ensure our programs and policies enable strong and dynamic rural communities.”

For this, the government has replaced its previous Rural Economic Development Program with the new program, saying it is doubling its funding to $10 million annually over the next two years for a total of $20 million.

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Kinga Surma, minister of infrastructure, also announced the opening of applications for the $175 million health and safety water stream of the province’s Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, starting Feb. 12, to ensure communities have access to safe drinking water, reliable wastewater services, and are protected during extreme weather.

“Our government is working with municipalities and First Nations to ensure they have the support they need to maintain crucial water infrastructure assets and promote housing growth in their communities,” Surma said in the release.

“Proper maintenance of our water and wastewater infrastructure is critical for protecting our homes and businesses and ensuring communities have access to clean drinking water. We remain dedicated to supporting municipalities and First Nations by delivering the critical infrastructure their communities need today and for generations to come.”

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