The Red Seine Rat Wastewater Cooperative (RSRWC) held a public meeting for Niverville and area residents on September 4 at the CRRC. A small handful of residents attended the informational session, which was intended to provide updates on the upcoming shared wastewater treatment plant.
Also in attendance were members of the engineering firm hired for the project. Presenting at Thursday’s meeting was Gord Daman, RSRWC consultant.
A similar meeting is scheduled for Ritchot on Monday, September 15 at the TC Energy Centre in Île-des-Chênes.
The idea of a shared wastewater initiative was first announced in 2022 and originally comprised four municipalities within the cooperative: Niverville and the RMs of Hanover, Ritchot, and Tache. Since that time, two more have been on-boarded: La Broquerie and De Salaberry.
The treatment plant initiative was born as a response to the problem posed by lagoons for all the rural communities involved. Population growth requires greater septic needs, leaving them with few options besides expanding their lagoon capacity.
Daman says there’s some pros to a lagoon system versus a mechanical system, primarily revolving around low capital and operational costs. But for the most part, the advantage ends there.
Disadvantages include the significant land base required for a lagoon. To expand, communities need to rely on the availability of more land, which usually means losing valuable agriculture acres in the process.
For communities with no land in which to expand and no option to annex more, growth can stagnate, since the province has the right to refuse building permits. According to Daman, this is currently the case in St. Malo.
As well, strict legislation surrounds the discharge of filtered wastewater into the environment and this sludge must be regularly removed.
“About 80 percent of communities in Manitoba utilize this system, but it only [serves] about 20 percent of the population,” Daman said. “Once you reach a population of 10,000, you can’t continue with this type of lagoon system.”
The best alternative to the lagoon system is the mechanical system contained inside a wastewater treatment plant. This is what’s being proposed for a section of land within the RM of Ritchot.
So that the facility can service multiple municipalities, many lift stations and miles of effluent pipes will need to be installed. But once operational, it is anticipated that the plant will allow growth in all the participating communities for decades to come.
Despite the infrastructure required, Daman says a huge advantage of the mechanical system is its low land footprint.
“If we take all of the lagoons that are represented in the RSR region, about 13 or 14 communities, you would probably require somewhere between ten to fifteen times the amount of acres than you would for a mechanical system. It ensures that we [keep] somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 acres in [ag] production.”
As well, environmental controls set by the province are much easier to manage in a mechanical system, and it leaves a safer byproduct.
“The water that’s being sent out of the plant can be used for irrigation and, for a cool $25 million to $35 million, we could actually add another treatment process and actually have potable water,” Daman said. “We could have a complete circular system.”
A mechanical system also requires less labour. The resulting plant will only require a few employees versus the many needed to manage each individual lagoon system.
Speaking in terms of commercial and industrial advantages, the water treatment plant, as proposed, won’t place as many limits on communities when it comes to welcoming new industry. According to Daman, this is a problem currently faced by Bothwell Cheese, which would like to expand but the greater sewage output they’d produce would overtax the current lagoon.
The primary challenge with a mechanical system, though, is the high initial capital cost. The latest estimate from engineers comes to $235 million.
“That’s why coming together with other municipalities, we can actually get that critical mass to make this work and to have a better system that benefits all,” Daman said.
In turn, having an efficient sewage solution with long-term potential helps to increase the value of homes and businesses within a community. No one wants to relocate to an area where growth has been stagnated by lack of foresight.
With Niverville’s rapid growth, the community is already dangerously close to this scenario, he said.
Tender for the project closed in early September and, assuming the estimates come in within the proposed budget, Daman expects to be able to award the tender by October. There is a contingency plan in place should the estimate come in a bit higher.
Financing and Oversight
In recent years, the RSRWC has been working to secure provincial and government grants to help fund the project. For the immediate capital costs, a loan has been taken with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) as well as Access Credit Union.
The financing provided by the CIB comes with a very low interest rate, Daman said.
“Not only do we get the benefit of that rate, they lock the rate in for 30 years,” he explained.
Because of the economic impact of trade tariffs with the U.S., Daman says it’s likely that the components that make up the mechanical system will come from Sweden.
Daman says that the RSRWC has applied to the Public Utilities Board for oversight, although this is not a governmental requirement. That application was accepted.
“In the long run, to be able to protect ourselves and have the maximum transparency, RSRWC should be deemed a public utility,” said Daman. “That means that there’s oversight. That means that there has to be applications on a regular basis to justify rates being charged for the members. As importantly, [it means that] rates can’t be more than what your services are costing.”
Costs established by the utilities board, though, do take into consideration a reasonable maintenance and repair budget so that the RSRWC will never be left without funds for necessities.
Effects on Sewer Rates
In order to prevent rate shock resulting from the build, tax increases will be rolled out to each ratepayer over a three-year period. Construction costs of $12 million will need to come out of those taxes.
Using Niverville as an example, Daman says current ratepayer fees come to $67.85 on a quarterly basis. In 2026, those rates will increase by 50 percent, adding $32.33 to the quarterly rate.
In 2027, the rates will increase by 100 percent, essentially doubling the rate being paid in 2025. Finally, in 2028, the rates will increase by 150 percent from their original amount, adding $96.66 to the current rate. That means that, in three years time, the sewer rates are expected to come to about $165 per quarter per household.
For Ritchot’s urban residents, sewer rates are calculated on a cubic meter basis since households and businesses are metered. The current rate in the municipality comes to $1.14 per cubic meter of discharge. In year one, that rate will increase by 68 cents. Year two will see a $1.35 increase, and by year three a $2.03 increase.
In the end, this should amount to an approximate $3.17 fee per cubic meter.
Over the course of the next three years, rural residents can expect their tipping fees for waste collection to also go up.
Daman says that the current rate for sewer in the city of Winnipeg is $4.40 per cubic meter. By 2027, that rate is expected to climb to $6.60 to help pay for a new treatment plant of their own.
“When construction is done and we have to revert to [just operational costs], hopefully, if we’re successful in [accessing] some of the grants, rates won’t actually have to go up much,” Daman says. “It’s not guaranteed, but that’s the effort that’s being made.”
One positive factor that can and likely will affect both Niverville and Ritchot’s rates over the coming years is growth. Since each municipality is responsible to cover a certain fixed cost of the project, residential and commercial growth will help spread those costs further, thus alleviating costs for existing ratepayers.
As well, he adds, down the road, if other municipalities decide to come on board the shared system, the RSRWC may have an opportunity to sell those services, thus funneling additional profits towards ratepayer fees.
If residents have concerns about the proposed rates, they are welcome to reach out to their local councils or, alternatively, they can write to the PUB.