Lethbridge city council, acting as the Community Issues Committee, heard a proposal Tuesday to expand the city’s water and wastewater capacity. The $287-million project would increase water treatment capacity to 180 million litres a day. With the city already at its treatment limit, several members of council are eager to see the proposal move ahead. “It’s going to give us the ability to expand our growth within our community. And it’s hard to be able to expand growth when it comes to industrial or any commercial-based businesses coming to the community without having the infrastructure in place,” said Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen. The project would help support up to 22,000 new homes in the city. It would also help open up 4,000 hectares of land in southeast Lethbridge for future development. “It’s critical that we do this. And it’s not just critical for the community of Lethbridge, but it’s critical for all of southern Alberta. This is a regional approach. It’s something that we thought to be incredibly important,” said Hyggen. The expansion would support more than just the city of Lethbridge, as several neighbouring communities rely on the city for water. “We’re not on an island here. So, when there’s things in the region, whether that’s greenhouses or large processing or production facilities or other things, those people still might live in Lethbridge, shop in Lethbridge, attend things in Lethbridge, go to restaurants,” said city manager Lloyd Brierly. The city aims to split the cost three ways, with the provincial and federal governments as partners. “The federal and provincial dollars that are available don’t come along every day. So, opportunities like this when we already have a need, water and wastewater infrastructure, are significant. This is generational,” said Brierly. If approved, construction on the project would begin in 2027 and be completed by 2030.
