Wastewater Treatment Plant approved for immediate critical upgrades

The city’s wastewater treatment plant will officially receive new upgrades and much needed expansion after city council voted in favour of approving a four-year long renovation project for the plant.

The plant has been facing strain with capacity and aging infrastructure and was recommended to fix critical needs to reduce the risk of a major failure. The project is expected to cost $285 million, and will the largest infrastructure project in the City’s history. The plant, last upgraded over 40 years ago, will get a capacity increase of 50%, or 20 million litres daily.

The City’s Director of Infrastructure Services, Joel Sanchez, says, “The wastewater treatment plant is one of the City’s most important pieces of infrastructure and supports homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and services across Lethbridge. This project is about fixing and expanding critical infrastructure now rather than waiting for a larger and far more expensive problem later. A major wastewater system failure could disrupt services for residents and businesses, and create significant environmental and financial consequences. Expanding wastewater capacity also helps ensure Lethbridge can continue growing and attracting new investment and jobs.”

For residents, they can expect a steady wastewater utility rate increase of 18.05% between January 1^st of 2027 and 2030. Each year, the monthly wastewater bill will result in an increase of:

• 2027: $4.42
• 2028: $5.21 ($9.63 cumulative)
• 2029: $6.15 ($15.78 cumulative)
• 2030: $7.27 ($23.05 cumulative)

However, the city expects that no conservation efforts are needed during the entire construction process.