The federal government is investing more than $30 million to improve Ottawa’s central wastewater treatment facility at a time that the city’s infrastructure is bending under extreme weather.
The funding will allow the city to upgrade the electrical system of the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre in Ottawa’s east end to make it more resilient in the face of storms. It will also help prepare the facility for future upgrades and potential expansions to support the city’s growing population, according to a government press release.
“We’re seeing more of these extreme weather events, and the storm on July the first is the perfect example of that,” said Mayor Mark Sutcliffe at a press conference on Aug. 24.
“We need to make sure that our infrastructure is robust and resilient.”
This year, Ottawa has faced the wettest summer on record, beating the record on Aug. 10 and bypassing the 1972 record of 464 millimetres.
Climate change has increased the likelihood of extreme weather events, putting pressure on the city’s infrastructure. At the same time, the population of Ottawa is expected to inrease by about 500,000 residents over the next 25 years.
A recent report to city council found that Ottawa will require 195,000 new residential units and the infrastructure to support those homes.
With files from Olivia Belovich.
