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A $252-million plan to stop sewage from spilling into the Ottawa River would install one or more huge storage facilities to catch the overflow whenever the city is drenched in rain.
The recommended projects under the Ottawa River Action Plan are on paper. Now it’s a question of how the city will cover the $140 million needed to fully fund the plan over the next five years. The rest of the money is already in the bank.
“The CIty of Ottawa is going to find a way, whether we do it through our water rate or whether we do it through our tax base or whether we borrow the money, we will be finding the money to go forward with the additional $140 million of work over the coming years to solve this problem,” Mayor Larry O’Brien said, noting that it’s premature to comment on how it could affect water rates down the road.
This year’s water rate alone is expected to increase by as much as 10%.
The city announced the proposed cleanup strategy Monday at a Lebreton Flats construction site where an overflow regulator is being upgraded.
The recommended plan was one of three options the city presented in public consultations. It’s a plan that would significantly reduce the number of beach closures each year, but it doesn’t come cheap.
“In order to get to zero (overflows), we have to take some bold and expensive steps to create storage in our system for 45 million litres of sewage,” Alta Visa Coun. Peter Hume said.
Hume, who chairs the planning and environment committee, said the city might have to go back to residents for a greater capital contribution from the water rates to pay for the plan. The city would likely ask for the provincial and federal governments to assist with funding, Hume said.
Diverting costs to the tax base is a “last resort,” Hume said.
Meredith Brown, executive director of Ottawa Riverkeeper, said she’s pleased with the plan the city is pursuing.
“That’s the option Ottawa Riverkeeper had recommended and it really pushed the public to comment on, so it’s a positive way to move forward and I think it’s important that Ottawa is showing a leadership role in the Ottawa River watershed because this is a problem that all the municipalities up and down the river have,” Brown said.
The planning and environment committee will receive the report next week before it goes to city council.