$1.6-million investment made in Blackville wastewater system improvements

Premier Shawn Graham, Blackville Mayor Glen Hollowood, Southwest Miramichi MLA Rick Brewer and Tobique-Mactaquac MP Mike Allen

BLACKVILLE (CNB) – Blackville residents will soon benefit from an extended municipal wastewater system, thanks to an investment of more than $1.6 million from the Canada-New Brunswick Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. The announcement was made today by Premier Shawn Graham, Tobique-Mactaquac MP Mike Allen, and Blackville Mayor Glen Hollowood.

“Investing in important infrastructure projects will improve the quality of life for residents of Blackville, which will help us work toward our goal of self-sufficiency,” Graham said. “The Province of New Brunswick is proud to be a partner in this important extension of the municipal wastewater system for Blackville.”

The project will connect 60 new households to the municipal wastewater collection and treatment system. As a result, septic tank contamination of the groundwater drawn by private wells in the lower part of the village will be avoided. The new system will also encourage increased development in the village, as there has been little residential growth in the previously unserviced area, due to the high cost of installing septic tanks.

“The Government of Canada is working with its partners to get things done for the people of Blackville,” Allen said. “With our government’s investment of more than $550,000, these improvements to Blackville’s wastewater system will help to ensure the health and safety of local residents, and encourage new residential development in the village.”

Allen attended on behalf of Peter MacKay, minister of national defence and minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

“The Village of Blackville would like to thank the federal and provincial governments for their support and approval of the Blackville sewer extension,” Hollowood said.  “This will improve the quality of life for those residents of Blackville who will benefit from the sewer extension.”

The Government of Canada, through ACOA; the Province of New Brunswick; and the Village of Blackville will each contribute one third, or $553,340, toward the eligible costs of the $1.6-million project.

For more information on New Brunswick and Government of Canada infrastructure programs, visit www.gnb.ca and www.infrastructure.gc.ca, respectively.