The Rural Municipality of Hanover has come out with its annual wish list to the Manitoba Water Services Board.

Reeve Stan Toews says their top five list identifies what would be considered priority items, should the province make funding available. This year's top five list includes:

  1. Grunthal forcemain upgrade
  2. Kleefeld wastewater lagoon expansion
  3. New Bothwell lagoon
  4. Kleefeld First, Second and Third Street watermain upgrade
  5. Grunthal sewermain upgrades

According to Toews, the Grunthal forcemain upgrade has been at or near the top of this list for some time now. According to the municipality, Grunthal's forcemain to the lagoon has reached maximum capacity. The community has recently upgraded its lift station pumps but now requires the forcemains to be upgraded to take full advantage of the pump upgrades. The estimated cost of this project is $600,000 and the preferred start date is 2023.

With regards to the Kleefeld wastewater lagoon expansion, the municipality says that Kleefeld has reached its capacity and therefore requires an expansion to its lagoon in order to allow the community to continue to grow. In order to avoid an overflow or treatment issue, Hanover hired WSP Consulting to complete an engineering study that provides answers as to the expansion required to accommodate another 20 years of growth. The estimated cost of this project is $4 million and the preferred start date is 2023.

In New Bothwell, the municipality says that community's lagoon has reached capacity. An expansion will reduce environmental concerns by avoiding future emergency discharges or slowing the local economy. The estimated cost of this project is $7 million and the preferred start date is 2023.

Over in Kleefeld, the municipality says watermains on First, Second and Third streets are undersized and beyond their expected service life. Watermain improvements would provide the capacity required for fire protection and the installation of fire hydrants. It would also improve the pressure, quality and supply of water to the residents on those streets. The municipality says improving these mains would also greatly reduce insurance costs. The estimated cost of this project is $500,000 and the preferred start date is 2023.

The final project involves upgrading Grunthal's sewermain. The municipality says Grunthal's sewermains are reaching their life expectancy and are currently causing more blockages due to settlement and breaks. As a result of back-ups in the system, there is periodic basement flooding and other issues for ratepayers. Settlement of the old pipes also results in blockages during certain flow events. The estimated cost of this project is $5 million and the preferred start date is 2024.

In December of 2019, four municipalities in the southeast announced plans for a regional wastewater treatment plant. Those municipalities are Hanover, Ritchot, Niverville and Tache. Those plans are still in the works, though a funding commitment is still required from the upper levels of government. Toews says if suddenly funding would be announced for that project, it would remove some of the items from the top five list for the Manitoba Water Services Board.

Meanwhile, he notes the Manitoba Water Services Board receives more requests than it has available dollars and so when push comes to shove, sometimes a municipality is forced to start a project without a provincial grant.