Infrastructure to get $24M in upgrades in growing town of Inverness

Water and sewer infrastructure in the town of Inverness, N.S., are getting a $24-million upgrade thanks to funding from three levels of government.

The money will be used by the town to build a new wastewater treatment plant and drinking water distribution lines in the western Cape Breton community.

The original infrastructure was built in the 1970s and needs to be replaced, said Inverness County Warden Bonny MacIsaac.

"It means we're going to be able to grow as a community," MacIsaac said. "We're going to have clean drinking water. We're going to have a wastewater treatment plant that's not at capacity. Room to grow. So we can look at housing development. This just opens it right up for us."

An Antigonish developer paused a large housing development more than two years ago because of a lack of adequate infrastructure. Rapid residential and commercial growth sparked by the Cabot golf courses has strained system capacity.

MacIsaac said the federal and provincial funding was a long time coming, but it's also welcome because a recent report found the municipality has a $103-million infrastructure deficit.

"I'm just very grateful we're finally at this stage in Inverness," she said.

The town's fire hall was packed with local residents who cheered the announcement.

The county is contributing $6.5 million, the Nova Scotia government is adding $8.1 million and the federal government is kicking in $9.8 million.

Inverness MLA Allan MacMaster, who is also deputy premier and the province's finance minister, said the work will finally resolve a longstanding problem.

"I can tell you the number one issue that I always heard about Inverness was the water and now, something so basic as a good source of drinking water, putting the whites in the washing machine and having them come out white," he said. "The simple pleasures in life."

Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway said he started working on getting the funding just a couple of days after he was elected in 2019.

Successfully getting a deal done means the economy doesn't have to be sacrificed for the environment, he said.

In addition to providing better pollution control in the community, the work will create jobs and have a lasting economic impact on the county, Kelloway said.

"Wastewater is not a sexy item … but, boy, everyone is impacted by it.

"Everyone is influenced by it in terms of when they make an investment or don't make an investment, in buying a home or starting a business."

The work is expected to start later this year.

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