The City of Nelson has received a $395,000 grant to develop a comprehensive liquid waste management plan for the city.
According to a media release, council was presented with a wastewater plan in January with a recommendation to complete a liquid management plan as the first step to upgrading the wastewater treatment plant.
Mayor Janice Morrison said the city is excited to get the grant and this will go a long way to allow the plan to proceed as well as reduce costs.
“Mayor and council are appreciative of being awarded the grant from the federal government,” she says. “It will allow us to proceed with the important planning stage of upgrading our aging wastewater treatment system.
“The detailed planning is critical as these are multi-million dollar projects.”
Director of engineering Colin Innes says the process will now allow the city to get input on the project from the community and stakeholders.
“What a liquid waste management plan allows us to do is to engage the community and do consultations,” he says. “Consultations will allow us to develop a new sewage treatment facility, so this is the first step.”
Innes says a site hasn’t been chosen yet, because it is premature to do so without consultation and building a plan.
“I can’t honestly say where the new facility will be because it has to be worked out from the plan,” he says.
Innes says the grant money will completely cover the cost of developing the plan.
The city will be consulting with Urban Systems on the plan, which is expected to be finalized by the end of 2026.