Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Guelph has been awarded $2.1 million through the provincial housing-enabling water systems fund (HEWS Fund) for the Wyndham-Wellington Water and Wastewater Capacity Improvements project.
“We are grateful for the province’s support through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund,” said Cam Guthrie, Mayor of Guelph. “This project is a critical step towards upgrading our infrastructure to unlock more housing.”
Funding, which was awarded through a competitive application process, will help pay for the replacement and improvement of water and wastewater infrastructure on Wellington Street from Gordon Street to Wyndham Street South. It will also fund replacing the wastewater infrastructure on Wyndham Street South from Wellington Street to Farquhar Street.
As a result of the upgrades, 150 shovel-ready housing units will be enabled by 2027, helping achieve housing pledge targets.
“This provincial funding aligns perfectly with our approach to downtown infrastructure renewal. The infrastructure upgrades enabled by the HEWS Fund, particularly in water and wastewater, will accelerate our efforts to unlock more housing, accommodate expected growth, create a thriving downtown, and continue delivering essential services to our community,” Guelph’s chief administrative officer Tara Baker said in a statement.
Replacement of the water and wastewater infrastructure on Wyndham-Wellington is expected to begin in 2025 and is part of the city’s Downtown Infrastructure Renewal Program.
Provincial funding is targeted to municipal projects that will develop, repair, rehabilitate and expand critical drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
