VICTORIA – The Province will contribute one third of the funding required to provide effective sewage treatment for the Capital Regional District (CRD), Premier Gordon Campbell announced today in his speech to the annual convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. “The lack of sewage treatment for our provincial capital is an embarrassment to British 
Columbians, and it’s time we work together with the federal government and the CRD to provide proper sewage treatment in Greater Victoria,” Campbell said. “For decades, experts and scientists told the people of Victoria that Mother Nature was doing what needed to be done to deal with Victoria’s sewage, but we now know that’s just not viable anymore. In July we directed the CRD to come up with a plan to implement sewage treatment, and today we’re committing to share the cost of providing that treatment.” The CRD discharges coarse screened, raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca through two outfalls, one at Clover Point and one at Macaulay Point. A report produced for the Ministry of Environment by an independent consultant concluded that both outfalls are contaminated sites. The Province has asked the CRD to submit a preliminary report by this December outlining treatment options, the potential location of treatment facilities, potential costs and an implementation schedule. Premier Campbell said that the Province will work with the CRD and the federal government to find the best, lowest cost solution for sewage treatment in Victoria with the one condition that Partnerships BC take a hard look at whether or not the project can be completed as a public-private partnership. “Our experience has shown us that public-private partnerships save money, transfer risk and add value through design innovations and ingenuity,” Campbell said. “Providing sewage treatment for the CRD is going to be a major capital project. We owe it to the people of Victoria to make sure it’s done right and done affordably, and a P3 model may well be the best route to deliver on those goals.” Premier Campbell said P3’s will become the new capital standard. In future, all provincially-funded capital projects with a value of over $20 million will be considered first by Partnerships BC to be built as public-private partnerships unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise. Public-private partnerships to date have resulted in significant benefits, including $131 million in addition benefits on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, $92 million in benefits for the new Canada Line, $39 million in benefits on the Abbotsford Hospital and Cancer Centre, and $25 million in benefits from the new William R. Bennett Bridge.
Columbians, and it’s time we work together with the federal government and the CRD to provide proper sewage treatment in Greater Victoria,” Campbell said. “For decades, experts and scientists told the people of Victoria that Mother Nature was doing what needed to be done to deal with Victoria’s sewage, but we now know that’s just not viable anymore. In July we directed the CRD to come up with a plan to implement sewage treatment, and today we’re committing to share the cost of providing that treatment.” The CRD discharges coarse screened, raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca through two outfalls, one at Clover Point and one at Macaulay Point. A report produced for the Ministry of Environment by an independent consultant concluded that both outfalls are contaminated sites. The Province has asked the CRD to submit a preliminary report by this December outlining treatment options, the potential location of treatment facilities, potential costs and an implementation schedule. Premier Campbell said that the Province will work with the CRD and the federal government to find the best, lowest cost solution for sewage treatment in Victoria with the one condition that Partnerships BC take a hard look at whether or not the project can be completed as a public-private partnership. “Our experience has shown us that public-private partnerships save money, transfer risk and add value through design innovations and ingenuity,” Campbell said. “Providing sewage treatment for the CRD is going to be a major capital project. We owe it to the people of Victoria to make sure it’s done right and done affordably, and a P3 model may well be the best route to deliver on those goals.” Premier Campbell said P3’s will become the new capital standard. In future, all provincially-funded capital projects with a value of over $20 million will be considered first by Partnerships BC to be built as public-private partnerships unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise. Public-private partnerships to date have resulted in significant benefits, including $131 million in addition benefits on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, $92 million in benefits for the new Canada Line, $39 million in benefits on the Abbotsford Hospital and Cancer Centre, and $25 million in benefits from the new William R. Bennett Bridge.
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