News Release Archive
HOUSING/MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS--Homes to be Connected to Town Water
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Years of frustration for a number of residents in Upper Nappan
will soon be alleviated and a top priority of the Municipality of
the County of Cumberland addressed when homes in the Smith Road
Pond area are hooked up to the town of Amherst water supply at
MacDonald Road.
More than $640,000 has been allocated under the Canada/Nova
Scotia Infrastructure Works Agreement. Federal, provincial and
municipal partners will each contribute one-third of the project
cost. About 20 short-term jobs will be created.
Under the project, six homes will be connected to three water
mains to ensure that the water supply flow is safe and reliable.
The area is currently serviced from a spring-fed pond.
The project will not only provide a better and safer service, it
will also address future growth for the area. The water mains
will have the capacity for 40 more homes and future commercial
development.
The announcement was made today by Senator Al Graham, Leader of
the Government in the Senate on behalf of Fred Mifflin, Secretary
of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Guy
Brown, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, the provincial
department responsible for delivering the Canada/Nova Scotia
Infrastructure Works Agreement. They were joined by Warden Ralph
Welton and Coun. Gerald Read of the Municipality of the County of
Cumberland, and Mayor Jerry Hallee of Amherst.
"Supplying safe and reliable water service to a community is in
line with the main objectives of the Canada Infrastructure Works
program, established by the government of Canada in 1994," said
Senator Graham. "It is an essential service and needed investment
in this community's future.
"I am delighted with the co-operation of our partnership on this
particular issue, because without the joint funding, the project
could not have been undertaken," said Mr. Brown. "Upon learning
of the plight of the residents of Smith Road, I was determined to
work for a solution and have them hooked up to a clean, reliable
and safe water supply."
"This is a priority project for our municipality," said Mr.
Welton. "The Infrastructure Works funding has made it possible to
get started on this important undertaking without further delay."
The Canada/Nova Scotia Infrastructure Works Agreement is a
cost-shared program designed to meet some of the most pressing
infrastructure needs and priorities of local governments.
Projects are developed by municipalities and other partners, and
costs are shared among project proponents.
The success of the agreement, originally signed in January 1994,
persuaded governments to sign an amendment in February 1997
topping up the program with a new federal/provincial commitment.
Under the top-up program, the governments of Canada and Nova
Scotia will each contribute $14.2 million. It will be matched or
exceeded by funding on the local level.
To date in Nova Scotia, 118 projects have been approved under the
top-up program, representing an investment of more than $44
million. Nearly 90 per cent of the project funding has been
allotted to core sewer, water system and transportation
initiatives. Other important community needs projects have also
received assistance.
Under the original 1994 Canada/Nova Scotia Infrastructure Works
Agreement, $221.3 million has gone toward priority infrastructure
needs through 324 projects, directly creating about 4,200 jobs.
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Contact: Paula Kennedy
Housing and Municipal Affairs
902-424-7186
E-mail: kennedpc@gov.ns.ca
Beverly Boyd
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
902-426-9417
Ralph Welton
Municipality of the County of Cumberland
902-667-1352
sab Dec. 1, 1997 10:53 a.m.
