Weyburn, Estevan and 19 nearby communities will benefit from a $5.3 million investment for infrastructure projects from the federal government and the Province of Saskatchewan through the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF), as announced on Monday in Weyburn.

For the City of Weyburn, this MRIF funding comes in the amount of $1 million, that will go towards the cost of $7,349,000 wastewater treatment system upgrade project. This project involves expanding the lagoon capacity, removing biosolids from the treatment cell and upgrading the secondary storage cells to improve effluent quality.

"We are grateful for this investment," commented Mayor Debra Button of Weyburn. "As without the investment, there would have been a further burden placed on the residents of the city with the upgrades to the wastewater treatment system being necessary."

"It is necessary to upgrade this system to increase capacity and to meet with the provincial government regulations," said Bob Smith, City Manager of Weyburn. The City of Weyburn foresaw the requirements for major upgrades to the water and sewer system and had built up a reserve in the water and sewer utility reserve fund for the last 20 years to help pay for the remaining construction costs.

Blaine Frank, Director of Engineering for the city, said, "There have been no final decisions on where or when the upgrades to the wastewater treatment system in the City of Weyburn will start taking place, as the project is still in its primary planning," but it is hoped that it can be started this spring and should be complete within two years.

Additional infrastructure funding in the area include $99,548 MRIF towards the $199,096 Boren Grid Road reconstruction in the RM of Brokenshell; $109,452 MRIF to cover part of the $218,906 Prairie Grid 742 upgrade in the RM of Fillmore; $127,500 MRIF to go towards the $255,000 water storage reservoir project for the Town of Midale; and $285,876 MRIF to cover part of the $571,754 road reconstruction in the RM of Surprise Valley.

"Through this investment of $5.3 million, Canada's New Government is getting things done for families and taxpayers in southeastern Saskatchewan," said Ed Komarnicki, MP for Souris-Moose Mountain. "This investment will translate into upgraded wastewater systems, better water supplies and safer roads for our communities."

The federal and provincial governments are investing a total of $76 million in the four-year Canada-Saskatchewan Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. Participating communities are expected to contribute one-half the cost of any project, which will raise the total infrastructure investment above $152 million.

"This demonstrates the province's commitment to supporting infrastructure," said Doreen Hamilton, MLA for Regina Wascana Plains. "We are dedicated to making life better for Saskatchewan families and to building an even better future here for our young people and these infrastructure projects will support our strong future."

An advisory group in Saskatchewan looks at the applied infrastructure projects from the communities, receiving involvement from SUMA and SARM, with a review process under both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Saskatchewan Environmental Assessment Act before receiving final approval.