No word on whether province will help with $20 million cost increase to Revelstoke wastewater treatment upgrade project

The City of Revelstoke still has no answers on whether the province will provide assistance with a significant cost increase to upgrade the city’s wastewater management system after Mayor Gary Sulz and director of infrastructure and planning Steve Black travelled to Victoria to meet with Deputy Minister of Environment Kevin Jardine.

In an update to council during the regular meeting on May 28, Sulz said the meeting was “an important step forward in solving the issues facing the city’s proposed plan to upgrade and expand the existing wastewater treatment.”

Of concern is a demand from the Ministry of Environment for the city to meet immediate compliance with municipal wastewater regulations and an apparent loss of interest by the province to allow the city to use a phased approach to meet the regulations. 

This has ballooned the cost of the project from $14 million to $35 million.

Revelstoke’s current wastewater treatment plant is operating under a permit issued in 1973 and is struggling to keep up with an increasing population.