The City of Winnipeg has released an updated cost estimate for the third phase of upgrades at the North End Water Pollution Control Centre (NEWPCC).

New biological nutrient removal facilities at the plant are now expected to cost $1.491 billion – up 80% from the 2018 cost estimate of $828 million. Winnipeg’s public service has proposed increasing Winnipeggers’ sewer rates to cover the cost of the project.

While Mayor Gillingham acknowledges such rate increases would be “crippling” for city residents, no other funding is in place for the third and final phase of provincially mandated upgrades at NEWPCC.

Improved sewage treatment is an urgent priority in Winnipeg, where upgrades have been long-delayed by the cost-prohibitive nature of provincial licence requirements. Luckily, a system is already in place at NEWPCC to help the treatment plant meet its most important licence requirement: the phosphorus limit of 1 mg/L.

A new chemical phosphorus reduction system came online at NEWPCC in June 2024, designed to accelerate phosphorus compliance while more costly upgrades are underway. A similar system was also used at Winnipeg’s South End Water Pollution Control Centre, first enabling that plant to meet its phosphorus limits in 2022 while a biological nutrient removal system was not yet complete.

The chemical phosphorus reduction system at NEWPCC has incredible potential, but it must be monitored and optimized in order to achieve phosphorus compliance. Currently, the chemical ferric chloride is being added at only some of the 13 potential dosing points, and at only a fraction of the recommended dosing rate.

Winnipeg’s City Council must ensure that dosing rates are increased, and new dosing points are added. Read our submission to the Standing Policy Committee on Water, Waste and Environment, urging councillors to leverage the full potential of this chemical phosphorus reduction system to achieve phosphorus compliance by the extended provincial deadline of 2030.