For Release
November 9, 2007
Peachland, British Columbia – The District of Peachland will receive almost $3 million in federal and provincial government funding to improve and enhance its drinking water system, the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, and Rick Thorpe, MLA for Okanagan-Westside, announced today.
“By linking the community’s water distribution and treatment centres, the residents of Peachland will have improved water quality and access to safe, clean drinking water,” said Minister Day on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification. “The Government of Canada is working in partnership with the Province of British Columbia to invest in infrastructure that supports a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and more prosperous communities.”
The Canada-British Columbia Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (CBCMRIF) funding will enable the District of Peachland to amalgamate existing water sources into one unified drinking water system. The project will address reliability, safety and conservation issues by completing water main and valve upgrades.
“Ensuring access to safe and clean drinking water for B.C. communities is imperative,” said Thorpe. “This funding will build on Peachland’s water treatment capacity, providing significant environmental and community benefits for residents, now and in the future.”
Under the initial CBCMRIF Agreement signed in June 2006, the federal and provincial governments each committed $51 million to the fund, with participating local governments expected to make up the remaining costs. This year, the Government of Canada and the Province of B.C. have each provided an additional $23.5 million to the Canada-B.C. Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund as part of their commitment to help smaller communities meet their pressing infrastructure needs. This additional funding brings the total federal and provincial investment and matching local government contribution in CBCMRIF projects to over $220 million.
The majority of the funding is targeted towards communities of fewer than 250,000 people and at least 60 per cent of the funding will assist with “green projects” such as drinking water supply, treatment and distribution needs as well as wastewater and energy efficiency projects. The remaining funds will be dedicated to other projects like tourism, recreation and other infrastructure.
More details on the program are available through the Canada-British Columbia Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund website, at www.canadabcmrif.ca.
For additional information, contact:
Karl Yeh
Communications Advisor
Western Economic Diversification Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia
Tel: (604) 666-4714
Marc Black
B.C. Ministry of Community Services
250 356-6334
