Everything we know about Yorkton’s wastewater plant renewal project

Federal Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger, Saskatchewan's Minister of Rural and Remote Health Lori Carr, Yorkton Mayor Aaron Kienle and Sask. Party MLA David Chan at Tuesday's announcement on the wastewater plant renewal project. (Fruzsina De Cloedt / CTV News)

The City of Yorkton has secured the first major funding commitment toward what the mayor described as the largest infrastructure project in the city’s history, with the federal and provincial governments contributing more than $36 million toward the renewal of the H.M. Bailey Water Pollution Control Plant.

The city’s existing wastewater treatment plant is operating beyond its intended capacity and has become a major bottleneck to growth, standing in the way of new housing projects, industrial expansion and the highly coveted new hospital.

A much needed upgrade

The current facility is designed to handle wastewater equivalent to a population of about 40,000 people, despite Yorkton’s population sitting at approximately 17,000. It is already nearing its maximum capacity due to Yorkton’s large service area.

Just a few months ago, in early July, the city narrowly avoided flooding due to rainfall that devastated nearby communities. The downpour put a huge strain on the aging wastewater plant. As a result, the city was forced to bypass about 40 million litres of wastewater. Some of it was partially treated and some untreated before being discharged into the nearby creek.

“Our system simply couldn’t handle it,” Yorkton Mayor Aaron Kienle told CTV News in July.

• Yorkton avoids state of emergency, but rainfall strains aging wastewater plant

According to Lori Carr, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Rural and Remote Health, the project will not only address the environmental issues, but it’ll open doors for the city’s growth.

“Once the full renewal program is complete, this infrastructure upgrade will support a potential development of more than 7,000 additional homes,” she said.

According to Kienle, this major infrastructure project was estimated to cost around $240 million at the 30 per cent design mark but is now estimated to cost $340 million in total.

Kienle said Yorkton’s goal is for the city to contribute about 27 per cent of the overall project cost, with the province covering roughly 33 per cent and Ottawa funding the remaining 40 per cent.

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He divided the renewal work into two phases, focusing on the first so far.

Phase one of the project, focusing on upgrades to the plant’s headworks facility, will receive approximately $20 million from the federal government, more than $16.5 million from the province and just under $13.5 million from the City of Yorkton.

Despite the substantial municipal contribution, Kienle said residents should not expect tax increases to fund the project.

“The idea is to not raise taxes,” he said. “We have money in reserves. We have adjusted our utility rates to make sure that we have money coming in that will support the servicing of the debt and loans that we’ll have to take for future phases.”

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‘The lobby was very effective’

Tuesday’s announcement follows more than a year of lobbying by Yorkton’s mayor and other representatives, including support from all sides of the political spectrum.

“The lobby was very effective,” Federal Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger concluded at the event. “I would point out that when we first engaged with the mayor and council and all those who advocated for the project, kudos to them all because they made some very compelling arguments.”

Earlier in his speech, he singled out Regina South Albert’s Saskatchewan NDP MLA Aleana Young for her tenacity in advocating for Yorkton.

“Tell one of the NDP opposition MLAs who has been phoning me on a regular basis, Aleana Young, asking for some of these projects in Yorkton, that we’re moving forward on that, so ‘You can leave Buckley alone for a while,’” Belanger joked.

In turn, Carr praised Yorkton’s Saskatchewan Party MLA for advocating for the renewal project.

“One of the really big advocates on the Yorkton project was the local MLA, David Chan, who explained how important it was for [the] industry to be able to continue to grow and for housing development to continue,” Carr said in her speech.

The funding announcement also marks a significant milestone in the more than year-long effort by Mayor Aaron Kienle to secure outside support for the project.

Kienle has repeatedly travelled to Ottawa to promote the project, arguing that Yorkton’s wastewater challenges extend beyond a city of roughly 17,000 people because of the community’s large food-processing and agricultural industries.

• ‘Our message was sent loud and clear’: Mayor of Yorkton among Sask. leaders to visit Ottawa

Last October, Kienle met with federal ministers, MPs, senators and government officials in Ottawa to build support for the project, saying Yorkton’s industrial wastewater demands more closely resemble those of a much larger community.

• Yorkton mayor to push for infrastructure funding in Ottawa

The mayor has also highlighted the issue on the international stage in New York during a United Nations forum focused on infrastructure and sustainability, where he identified the aging wastewater system as a major barrier to growth.

• Yorkton mayor highlights city’s infrastructure challenge at UN forum

Speaking Tuesday, Kienle said sustained advocacy was key to securing support.

“We started these lobbying efforts with both levels of government over a year ago,” he said. “The effort has been going on for a long period of time.”

It doesn’t compete with the new hospital

Given the substantial financial support Yorkton just received from the provincial government, questions arose about whether Saskatchewan is still committed to allocating funds for another major infrastructure project in the city, commonly referred to as the “new Yorkton hospital.”

• Provincial gov’t includes plans to build Yorkton hospital in 2026-27 budget

In response to questions from the media, Carr said the provincial government remains committed to building a new hospital in Yorkton.

“Those are separate and apart. They come from different funding sources,” the minister said, clarifying that the projects are not competing with one another.

Carr emphasized that wastewater upgrades are necessary before a new hospital can function properly.

“Upgrading this wastewater treatment plant the way they’re doing will definitely be instrumental in ensuring that when a new hospital is built, it will be able to run smoothly,” she said.

Future plans

For city leaders, Tuesday’s funding announcement is being viewed as a major victory, but not the finish line.

“We have an application in with the Build Communities Strong Fund and are working with both the provincial government and the federal government to get toward the completion of that,” Kienle explained.

The federal Build Communities Strong Fund is expected to fund the second phase of the renewal project.

“There is a lot more work to be done,” Kienle said. “Those conversations are going to continue until we see this project through.”

Construction is expected to begin in 2027 while the mayor continues his advocacy work.