September 26, 2003

A new waste water treatment plan for the City of Winnipeg will improve water quality in the Red River and Lake Winnipeg, Conservation Minister Steve Ashton said today.

"This plan describes how the province intends to implement the recommendations of the Clean Environment Commission from its August 2003 report on the city’s waste water facilities," said Ashton. "We need to act on these recommendations and so does the city."

Directions and expectations for waste water collection and treatment and upgrades for Winnipeg’s three waste water treatment facilities are outlined in the plan. The province will issue a licence or licences under the Environment Act by the end of the year which will reflect the commission’s recommendations and which are consistent with the province’s Lake Winnipeg Action Plan. The licences will be subject to a public review in two years.

Public reviews will be conducted every three years thereafter until the provincial government is satisfied that further reviews are not necessary. The licences will require the city to prepare a comprehensive environmental impact statement following provincial guidelines.

The Environment Act licence or licences will require the city to:

• Complete the city’s plan to control combined sewer overflow events even sooner than recommended by the commission. The CEC recommended that the city implement their plan within 20 to 25 years.
• Meet waste water effluent standards at the three treatment facilities based on the Manitoba Water Quality Standards, Objectives and Guidelines that are expected from similar facilities in Manitoba, including limits for ammonia.
• Ensure nutrient removal at the South End Water Pollution Control Centre within three years to meet the initial targets identified in the Lake Winnipeg Action Plan. Full nutrient removal, including the North End and West End facilities, will be required within five years.

Other commission recommendations directed towards the province or jointly directed towards the city, provincial and federal governments will be completed through partnerships and planning, Ashton said.

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Since 1999, addressing water issues has been a priority of the Manitoba government.

Highlights of actions taken as part of a provincial Water Strategy include:

• Drinking water resources, infrastructure and legislation: To protect the quality of drinking water, subsidies for water tests have been re-introduced; new drinking water officers have been hired; a new office of drinking water has been established; $40 million has been invested in drinking water and sewer infrastructure; and new drinking water legislation has been passed to address issues from source to tap.
• Stronger livestock regulations and monitoring: New regulations include requirements for all above ground storage tanks, annual water sampling and the regulation of between 600 and 800 additional operations. Nutrient application will be restricted in vulnerable areas.
• Actions to protect Lake Winnipeg: To begin the task of reducing nutrient levels in Lake Winnipeg, new sewage and septic field regulations have been passed to restrict sewage and septic installations based on soil type, slope and proximity to water. In addition, a Riparian Tax Credit is in effect and soil testing awareness programs have been introduced. High level cross-border meetings have been held with North Dakota and Minnesota officials. Nutrient management is also being built into environmental licensing for municipal sewage treatment facilities consistent with the recommendations from the CEC report released today. A Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board has been established and begun meeting to further actions to protect the lake.
• Expanding Conservation Districts: These districts are based on local conservation approaches to watershed management and have been expanded from nine to 16 across the province.
• Building our scientific knowledge: Includes completing the Assiniboine River Study on the health of the river as well as the nutrient management study on the health of the Red and Assiniboine rivers and the south basin of Lake Winnipeg. In addition, Manitoba Water Quality Standards, Objectives and Guidelines have been updated to become among the most comprehensive frameworks in the nation for water protection.