City Approved For $20.4 Million Provincial Funding For Water And Wastewater Infrastructure

WELLAND – The City of Welland is pleased to announce approved funding of $20.4 million for the Ontario Road Wastewater Trunk Sewer Expansion and Water Infrastructure Improvements project. This significant investment from the government of Ontario is from the Ministry of Infrastructure’s Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF).

As a critical investment in the city’s wastewater and water infrastructure, this project will support Welland’s growing population, improving water services and enabling sustainable growth for future housing, commercial, and industrial developments. With this funding, the City will expand the wastewater trunk sewer along Ontario Road and replace aging watermains.

“This funding is a considerable investment for our community. Expanding the water and wastewater infrastructure will not only improve essential services but also unlock future housing opportunities,” said Mayor Frank Campion. “As Welland continues to grow, this project lays the groundwork for a more vibrant, sustainable city.”

The project will include construction of a new 2.4-kilometre wastewater trunk sewer from the Ontario Road sewage pumping station to King Street, alongside the replacement of 1.3 kilometres of aging cast iron watermain between Southworth Street and King Street. These upgrades will enhance the city’s capacity to support new housing projects and ensure the reliability of critical services for residents and businesses.

“This is a strategic investment in Welland’s future. By enhancing our core infrastructure, we are building a strong foundation to accommodate future growth and economic development,” said Sherri-Marie Millar, director of infrastructure services.

Construction is expected to begin in January 2025, with a targeted completion date in December 2026.

Attribution: City of Welland media release

Heritage Lives: Infrastructure Activity Repeats Itself

 By Terry Hughes

In a recent Ward 4 Update sent by city councillor, Bryan Green, he mentioned that the city is spending large amounts of tax dollars for infrastructure projects. Just look around and the major push to replace water mains, sewers and street repairs is apparent. Unfortunately, the city in the past had neglected to initiate such work resulting in lost dollars due to major leakages in our ancient water network. Government funding has enabled the city to catch-up with these projects. For our street, we had to wait 50 years before any significant work was initiated. During the reconstruction of our road, a culvert six feet down was uncovered stating that Aqueduct Street North was once a provincial highway; “Provincial Highway 1923” was embossed on this structure.

A little over a century ago, the town of Welland faced some major infrastructure issues. Our drinking water was diverted from the Feeder Canal in Welland South and placed in a raceway that ended in the former Welland High property at Dennistoun Street.  A pump station located on the WHVS campus moved water into the town’s watermains. It was not uncommon to have an occasional fingerling fish come out of your faucet. 

One of our pictures for this month (top image) shows the corner of Dorothy Street and East Main looking west towards the County Registry Office and wall to the County Jail. The streets were clay covered and a sprinkler wagon can be seen putting some water on the street to keep the dust down. During wet weather the streets were almost impassable! 

The second picture (bottom image) shows us the muddy conditions at the top of West Main and Niagara Street, known then as North Main Street. A vehicle called a steam roller followed the sprinkler to smooth the roads of ruts. Unfortunately, this procedure led to a disastrous fire at the United Church on King Street when a gas main was punctured causing the building to catch fire. The city was held responsible and had to pay for damages!

With the addition of a trolley line that would cover some of the main streets it was decided to cover many of these roads with brick. The recent reconstruction of Niagara Street yielded railway ties and brick.  A piece of Catharine Street near Prince Charles Drive is a further example of this brickwork. 

With the building of the fourth canal coming, the city decided to construct a water treatment plant on the south end of what we today call Merritt Island. It was composed of beds of gravel that acted as filters and two large pumps powered by the drop between the canal and the river to pump water through the major mains to both Welland and Crowland. 

An interesting point here is that when we had the industrial tax base to fix the system, instead, we continued to rely on our antiquated water grid and expected it to serve our people today. Such neglect would eventually cost us more in the form of taxes that could have been used elsewhere or left in the pockets of taxpayers.

Next Column:  Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Every Place Else

(Terry Hughes is a Wellander who is passionate about heritage, history and model railroading. His opinion column, Heritage Lives, appears on the blog once or twice monthly.)