Wastewater Treatment

Red Rock Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction Underway

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Construction of a new wastewater treatment plant for the Town of Red Rock began on May 1st. (Photo: infosuperior.com)

Former Nipigon Bay Remedial Action Plan chair Dave Nuttal said it. More recently, former Red Rock Indian Band Chief Ed Wawia said the same thing ­­— construction of an upgraded municipal wastewater treatment plant, for the Town of Red Rock, was a “must do” proposition. The two agreed on one other point as well; construction of the new plant would directly benefit water quality in Lake Superior’s Nipigon Bay.

As for the community where the new plant will be built, Mayor Gary Nelson says, “For the Township of Red Rock, this investment will ensure our community complies with current provincial water quality regulations and new federal rules that come into effect in 2030. A new reliable wastewater system will ensure the township can accommodate future growth and draw more businesses to the area.”

The Town of Red Rock is located on Nipigon Bay, the most northerly portion of Lake Superior. (Map courtesy google.com)

Both Ontario and Canada Contributing Funds

Construction of the new plant started on May 1st. Aegus Construction of Thunder Bay is the contractor.

The Government of Ontario is contributing more than $17 million, or two-thirds of the total project cost, while the Government of Canada is contributing over $8.5 million under the New Building Canada Fund – National and Regional Projects.

The municipality of Nipigon, located on the largest river flowing into the Great Lakes, the Nipigon, completed a wastewater treatment plant upgrade in 2009. (Photo: infosuperior.com)

Like Thunder Bay, Jackfish Bay, and Peninsula Harbour in Canada, as well as Duluth-Superior Harbour in Minnesota/Wisconsin and Torch Lake in Michigan, Nipigon Bay is one of several Great Lakes environmental “Areas of Concern” (AOCs). These are specific locations where Remedial Action Plans, or cleanup plans, are making substantial progress to address environmental issues like pollution, degraded water quality and aquatic habitat.

Significant progress has been made to improve water quality in Nipigon Bay. Construction of a new wastewater treatment plant for the Town of Nipigon was completed in 2009. In this June 15, 2009 Infosuperior file photo, taken as funding was announced for Nipigon’s plant, Town of Nipigon Mayor Richard Harvey is joined by Nipigon Bay RAP Public Advisory Committee Chair Dave Crawford, Public Advisory Committee member Betty Brill and Provincial Member of Parliament Michael Gravelle. (Photo: infosuperior.com)

Nipigon Bay is one of the four AOCs covered by the North Shore of Lake Superior Remedial Action Plans (RAP). Nipigon Bay was designated as an Area of Concern in 1987 primarily as a result of impacts related to:

  • upstream hydroelectric dams
  • the accumulation of wood fibre, bark, and other organic matter from historic log drives
  • effluent inputs from municipal and industrial sources.

You can find information about RAP progress in Nipigon Bay by visiting http://rap.infosuperior.com/nipigon-bay/.

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