A provincial government pledge of as much as $34.9 million will go toward shoring up a water/wastewater treatment system in the Lively/Walden area that meets future needs.
So described Premier Doug Ford, who said his province’s goal is for this future need to include more housing — a goal he shares with Mayor Paul Lefebvre.
Ford announced the funding at the municipal water treatment facility in Naughton, which is fed by three lift stations in the region.
“Facilities like this one are so important to our communities right across the province,” Ford said during a media conference at the facility on Monday, thanking local workers.
“We know that building housing and enabling infrastructure like roads and bridges, and maintaining and expanding wastewater facilities like this one, is critical to getting those homes built faster.
“We’re going to keep working with you and council, not just to build more homes, but to make sure Sudbury has the infrastructure it needs.”
The province has set a goal for Greater Sudbury to increase its number of housing units by 3,800 within 10 years, and earlier this year awarded the city $1.52 million for meeting its targets thus far.
The money will be spent on both above-ground and linear underground water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the vicinity of Naughton, city Water/Wastewater director Shawn Chrétien told Sudbury.com.
The intent is to accommodate future housing and development, as well as upgrade what’s already there.
The Naughton facility currently averages around 2,500 cubic metres of wastewater per day and was designed for peak flows of up to 8,000 cubic metres.
“It sounds like a big gap, however, all wastewater systems are vulnerable to inflow infiltrations, which is snowmelt, heavy rain ... which can overwhelm the plant.”
Part of the funding will go toward waterproofing pipes underground, Chrétien said, “so we’re not unnecessarily treating ground water, rain water and snow melt.”
During Monday’s media event, Sudbury.com asked Ford about the $10-million funding cap the province placed on municipal funding from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund.
If not for the cap, the city would be raking in more than $18 million from the annual fund, depending on the year.
During pre-budget consultations earlier this year, Lefebvre told a panel of Progressive Conservatives that the city needs these funds to help address their infrastructure spending gap.
Some members of city council have pointed out that if not for the provincially mandated amalgamation which created the City of Greater Sudbury in 2001, area municipalities would be able to collect the full amount.
In 2022, the city’s elected officials agreed to have the city advocate that the province lift the cap, which only three municipalities are affected by (the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and the City of Thunder Bay are also hit).
“$10 million is a big number still,” Ford said. “Maybe next time we’ll look at it, but that’s a big chunk of change ... but everyone needs community upgrades and hockey arenas, and I’m big on that, so we’ll continue looking at that.”
Nickel Belt NDP MPP France Gélinas attended Monday’s media event, and told Sudbury.com afterward that there’s no reason the province can’t eliminate the $10-million cap.
The province has billions of dollars to put a tunnel under Highway 401 in southern Ontario, she said, “but they don’t have $8 million to help Sudbury get their fair share?”
There’s no lack of infrastructure for City of Greater Sudbury staff to contribute funding toward.
Following a long-term financial plan, City of Greater Sudbury water/wastewater rates have been increasing by 4.8 per cent annually in recent years, though staff indicated that they’ll be recommending an even greater annual increase beginning in 2026.
The average annual reinvestment needed in water/wastewater infrastructure capital was estimated at $96 million last year, at which time the five-year average expenditure was $41.9 million, leaving an annual funding gap of $54.1 million.
The city is responsible for 1,800 kilometres of water and wastewater mains, which includes 13 wastewater treatment facilities.
“This level and scope of assets is several times larger than that of municipalities with a similar population, rate base and number of customers serviced,” according to the city’s 2024-25 budget document.
“The City’s extremely low population density and large service area drive levels of infrastructure investments that far exceed peer municipalities for a similar service level.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.