Garibaldi Highlands will see the end of boil water advisories, Brackendale will have better flood protection, and both neighbourhoods will flush a little easier thanks to $3 million in provincial and federal funding announced Thursday, Sept. 24.
An "unprecedented" partnership is bringing three levels of government into a co-operative agreement to improve Squamish's aging infrastructure with three crucial projects.
"It's a wonderful example, and maybe unprecedented example, of the three levels of government working together," said West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Joan McIntyre.
The projects approved include a new sewer main on Government Road between Mamquam Road and Garibaldi Way; the replacement of a water pump station on the Boulevard; and a shoring up of dikes from Axen Road on north.
"A lot of kudos to the people at Squamish council and their staff who work closely with my staff and me to put these applications together," said West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MP John Weston. "The partnerships [showed] exemplary communication and co-operation between the levels of government."
McIntyre also congratulated Squamish for having projects "shovel-ready," which eased the way for approval.
"I thank the municipalities for their patience and perseverance because it's been a difficult process actually to match both levels of government in the process and find the projects that were good projects and were ready to go."
And, she said, there's another $200 million for such projects to be announced. Squamish was not approved for other grant applications, which include funds for a bike lane, corridor trail, Kingswood overpass and dredging of the Blind Channel.
"Unfortunately not all [projects] were able to be funded, so there's still an opportunity for some of that."
Each of the project's costs will be shared equally among the three levels of government.
The new water pump station, totalling $1.4 million, will make life easier for Garibaldi Estates and Highlands residents who had to resort to boiling water when current pumps had to rely on surface water during summer month droughts. Higher pumping capacity and more volume will soon allow water to be drawn from Mamquam River wells.
The new Government Road sewer main, worth $2 million, will allow for growing a population, and increase flow using a gravity-fed system that will decrease operation costs and save on greenhouse gases.
And diking upgrades, worth $425,000, will improve flood protection at the north end of Brackendale.
"Those are very beneficial to the community," said Mayor Greg Gardner. "If they were not funded by the provincial or federal governments, certainly at least the water pump and sewer upgrades would've otherwise had to have been funded by municipal tax dollars, so they're very welcome grants."
The total cost to the district is $1.8 million, $141,000 of which will be paid for through long term debt and the rest through Development Cost Charges (DCC) reserves.
"We're talking about amenities that are going to make Squamish a better place for the community," said Weston. "A better place for investors and for others to continue to live and work and enjoy Squamish."
The funds are part of $719 million in provincial infrastructure for 174 projects throughout B.C.
