Feds invest $3.6M to update Tecumseh sewage pump station
Money to support 40% of the total cost of a new sewage pumping station
The federal government announced $3.6 million to help replace the Cedarwood Sanitary Pump Station, a move officials say will help reduce the risk of basement flooding for Tecumseh residents.
The announcement was made by the Liberal MP for Windsor-Tecumseh, Irek Kusmierczyk, alongside Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara, on Wednesday.
The 52-year-old pump station serves a 920-hectare area in Tecumseh with thousands of residents. It will be replaced by a new station at the same site, with construction to begin in 2027.
The $3.6 million represents 40 per cent of the cost, with the town paying the rest.
Kusmierczyk explained that the investment is a part of the federal government's Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF), which goes toward flood mitigation solutions, including reinforcing existing infrastructure with modern, more sustainable materials.
Mayor McNamara said he was "thrilled" to see the federal funding because it'll benefit residents and businesses in the long and short term.
"This funding is not just an upgrade to our infrastructure but a crucial step towards enhancing the resilience and sustainability of our community," McNamara explained. "By modernizing this pump station, we are significantly reducing the risk of basement flooding and other climate-related impacts."
A 2023 article from the Institute for Research on Public Policy calls basement flooding the biggest expense related to climate change in Canada, costing $43,000 on average.
Windsor and Tecumseh experienced historic flooding in 2016 and 2017.
Since 2019, the federal government has invested $15 million in funding to modernize Tecumseh's flood resiliency infrastructure, Kusmierczyk said.
He says he met with McNamara on his first day as an MP to discuss the key priorities for his riding and signalled the rise of severe weather events as one of his causes of concern.
McNamara says the upgrades are needed to support new housing that will be built. However, this increase won't result in greater capacity at the pumping station because of an existing agreement about how much it can send to the Little River sewage treatment plant.
With files from Dale Molnar