Hope has received $2.43 million from the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, while Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) Area B has received $165,605.
In Hope, the money will be used to pay for the Hope Pollution Control Centre upgrades, also known as the sewage treatment plant, which will cost $2.93 million in total.
The District of Hope will pay $498,695 towards the project, which Mayor Wilfried Vicktor said will come from the District’s reserves.
Vicktor noted the sewage treatment plant needs to be upgraded because it still operates under a grandfathered environmental certification.
“Essentially what that means is we do not conform to modern effluent standards, that because it’s an existing facility, we’re able to continue to operate,” said Vicktor.
The upgrades will also give the plant a higher capacity.
Vicktor noted that Hope needs to do this project now to prepare for the future.
“We can’t presume that we’re going to operate under a grandfathered environmental certificate indefinitely,” said Vicktor. “Modern standards will be insisted upon, sooner than later, I’m sure.”
Th e project has an anticipated start date of Jan. 7, according to its backgrounder. The sewage treatment plant services residents who are connected to the municipal water supply.
Vicktor emphasized that this project is not a flashy, unnecessary project. Rather, it is an “imperative.”
For FVRD Area B, the money will be used towards upgrading the water system in Dogwood Valley.
The benefits to that area include more capacity to supply residents, better fire protection by enabling the Area to put in more fire hydrants, and hence lower insurance rates.
Area B has to pay its $33,920 portion, but director Dennis Adamson said it will be covered by funds from the gas tax grant.
“I’m really excited about it because the water pressure in that end is ... slow at times,”said Adamson. “It’s also hard to fight a fire if the water pressure is low.”
A new reservoir will be built up Nickle Mine, which allows gravity to help with water pressure. The project has an anticipated start date of Feb. 28.