Prioritizing Water Issues

I believe water is life and if we value life, we must also value and protect our water. 

Billions of litres of untreated sewage – BILLIONS – are being dumped into Winnipeg’s rivers every year.

Last year was one of the driest years on record, and yet Winnipeg still dumped 10.6 billion litres of raw sewage into the rivers that feed Lake Winnipeg.

This year is one of the wettest seasons on record. So far, we have dumped sewage in the rivers at least 59 times.
This happens every time a big rainfall or high-water event overwhelms our sewage system. Rather than sending the water through the city’s treatment plants, the overflow is dumped directly into the river.

With no controls in place, a toxic mix of harmful contaminants, bacteria, and physical waste make their way through the Red River into Lake Winnipeg.

We need to get a handle on our sewage capacity because we are about to run out of time.

Our sewage systems were established in 1937, when Winnipeg had a population of less than 350,000 people. Today, that same system services more than 800,000 people, plus the businesses and industries that call Winnipeg home.

The system has been maintained, with some upgrades in recent years. But it’s not happening fast enough.

In 2003, the Province of Manitoba issued a directive to the city to clean up its act.

And about 10 years ago, it upgraded the West End and South End Water Pollution Control Centres for a cost of almost $400 million.

But they weren’t the problem. The North End plant is the one that processes 70% of the city’s wastewater. And it was built in 1937.

18 years after the province issued that directive, in 2021, funding to finally upgrade our system came through – with the feds, the province and the city pledging about $355 million of a $1.8 billion dollar project.

There is no real plan to secure funding the rest of the $1.4 billion dollars.

In the meantime, there are consequences to holding our noses.

We have an obligation to the people living on and around Lake Winnipeg to not pollute it.

There are 30 communities and First Nations that live on or near the lake. More than 23,000 people live permanently in those communities. And tens of thousands more see Lake Winnipeg as their playground – a place to camp, to take their families to enjoy nature, a place to create memories.

Lake Winnipeg is one of the largest freshwater lakes on Earth. You can see it from space, and the ecosystems that it supports are essential to human survival.

I know that someone is going to point to farmlands and say that the province should do a better job of preventing nutrient runoff. I don’t disagree.

But pointing at another level of government doesn’t get us off the hook.

Water flows. It churns. It mixes together. It doesn’t matter if the toxins come from a farm or your toilet. Both the city and the province need to take responsibility for our own contributions to the health of Lake Winnipeg.

As your next Mayor of Winnipeg, doing our part to protect the water and the lands it affects will be a top priority.
I pledge to fast track the work of city hall to move forward on the upgrades that are already underway and have both the North End Water Treatment Plant and the sewer upgrades done by 2032.

And in my first 90 days in office, I will begin conversations with the provincial government, federal government, and key stakeholders to build a plan to establish committed funding for the rest of the project. 

And Winnipeggers, as we continue through this campaign, I hope you’ll join me and help me become the mayor that creates a city that is prosperous, community oriented and sustainable.