‘Essential and welcome’: Elgin municipalities receive $61 million for critical infrastructure

The province has announced significant funding for five water infrastructure projects across Elgin County. CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell explains.

New provincial funding across Elgin County will help pave the way for new growth in the region. The province has announced more than $61 million for five Elgin municipalities to upgrade critical infrastructure.

Among them, Southwold Township is on the receiving end of $24,685,041 for upgrades and expansion of the Talbotville Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Southwold Mayor Grant Jones said it allows for even more investment.

“We have a tract of land that runs from Amazon all the way down into Talbotville, so obviously, it’s around 15-hundred acres of zoned industrial. So the sky’s the limit, really, it’s just a matter of being able to service it at this point,” Jones told CTV News.

The $61 million in total funding was announced in a news release from the office of Elgin Middlesex London MPP Rob Flack, who serves as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Elgin County Warden Dominique Giguere said the infrastructure funding will help accommodate growth expected with major industries like PowerCo and Vianode, both currently building advanced manufacturing plants in St. Thomas.

“So the whole region is very excited about the prospect of welcoming PowerCo and all the other industries that are coming, rightly so, to this area for all that we have to offer. But we already had a housing crunch before that, and now it’s just been amplified. So this investment by the province in our area, it was essential and welcome,” said the warden.

Jared Zaifman, the CEO of the London Homebuilders Association, said up-to-date infrastructure is attractive for builders looking to invest.

“When services are there, when they’re ready to be utilized, it makes a huge difference. And that’s also what development charges usually go to fund and support. And so if other levels of government are coming in and supporting that at the front end, a lot of builders will know and acknowledge that that’s ready to go. They don’t have as many costs to come into that,” Zaifman explained.

The funding is part of the province’s $4 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program.

Breakdown of Local Funding

• Aylmer:$7,208,750 for installation of headworks and a fixed‑bed biological media system at the sanitary treatment lagoons.
• Central Elgin:$9,307,500 for flood‑mitigation measures in Port Stanley.
• Dutton‑Dunwich:$4,735,875 for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and Pump Station 1.
• Malahide:$15,330,000 for rehabilitation of the Port Burwell secondary main.
• Southwold:$24,685,041 for expansion and upgrades at a wastewater treatment plant in Talbotville.