Almost $35 million in water infrastructure funding will help enable 1,605 new homes

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The Ontario government is investing $34,999,999.91 to enable the construction of new homes in the Town of Carleton Place. The funding is being delivered through the first round of investments under the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, which includes $970 million to help municipalities develop, repair, rehabilitate and expand drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.

The funding will support the expansion of the town’s wastewater treatment plant. This project will enable 1,605 housing units in Carleton Place.

“Like many of the communities within our riding, Carleton Place has been greatly impacted by the challenges that come with exponential growth,” said John Jordan, MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston. “This investment addresses the need for reliable infrastructure to meet realistic housing targets as we respond to current demand and project for future population growth.”

The government is also allocating an additional $250 million and accepting a second round of applications through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, bringing the province’s total investment in the fund to $1.2 billion.

“I would sincerely like to thank the provincial government for this substantial grant as the financial burden on small, urban municipalities to upgrade this necessary infrastructure is immense. This funding will help ease that burden while allowing us to continue to grow and do our part in assisting Ontario in its push to build various housing types for all citizens,” says Toby Randell, Mayor of the Town of Carleton Place.

“By investing in drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities and connecting pipes to land, we are helping municipalities build more homes,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “Homes can’t be built without connections to drinking water and wastewater.”

In this year’s budget, Ontario announced more than $1.8 billion in housing-enabling infrastructure funding through the $825 million Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and the $1 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, in addition to funding announced previously through the province’s Building Faster Fund. In response to the significant demand for investments in water and wastewater infrastructure to enable the construction of more homes, and after consulting with municipalities, the province is transferring $275 million from the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program to the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund in order to meet this demand. In addition, the $120 million from the Building Faster Fund that was reserved for small, rural and northern communities is being flowed to these communities through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund.