Nearly $29M in provincial funding to improve wastewater facilities in Wellington County

The province is dedicating millions of dollars to expand wastewater treatment facilities in Arthur and Drayton.

Premier Doug Ford made a stop in the community of Kennilworth, Ont. Wednesday morning to announce nearly $29 million in funding for water and wastewater upgrades in Perth and Wellington counties.

The money, he explained, aims to protect existing homes and encourage new build projects.

“These investments will increase resilience during extreme weather events, protecting more than 5,500 homes in the region and supporting the construction of hundreds more to keep the dream of homeownership alive for the next generation of families,” Ford said.

The funding is part of the previously announced $875 million investment into the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program’s Health and Safety Water Stream, which launched in January 2025.

Funding allocation

More than $26 million has been earmarked for the expansion of the wastewater treatment facilities in Arthur and Drayton.

“Both the Arthur and Drayton wastewater systems discharge treated effluent to the Conestogo River, a key tributary of the Grand River and an important environmental, agricultural and recreational resource,” the province said in Wednesday’s media release.

Once completed, an additional 1,000 new housing units could be built in Arthur. In Drayton, it would be approximately 795.

Andy Lennox, mayor for the Township of Wellington North, said the funding couldn’t come at a better time. The expansion of Arthur’s wastewater facility stalled after phase one of the project.

“We completed the first round in 2019/2020 and almost immediately we ran out of capacity from that first expansion,” Lennox explained. “This will fund and allow us to be able to open up the development again in Arthur because the pace far exceeded our expectations from the first phase.”

As for the rest of the funding, West Perth will get about $2 million for the Herbert Street Sewage Pumping Station, helping to sustain service for 2,378 homes.

Perth East will get $675,250 for the Milverton Well Replacement and Reservoir Rehabilitation project, to improve water security for 850 homes.

“Safe and reliable water infrastructure is a key component of economic and community growth in rural Ontario,” Lisa Thompson, the minister of rural affairs, said in a media release. “Investments like this demonstrate our government’s commitment to enabling opportunities for rural families, businesses and communities to thrive.”