If at first you do succeed, try, try again.
After receiving millions in federal gas tax funding for its new water system, the District of Lillooet decided last week to apply to that same funding source for 100 per cent of the money needed to upgrade part of its antiquated and undersized storm drainage infrastructure.
Explaining the decision to apply for additional gas tax funding, Mayor Dennis Bontron commented, “Nobody believed we would ever get 100 per cent funding on the last one. We got it on the first phase and everybody said, ‘Well, that’s it, you’re never going to get it on the second phase’ and we got the second phase.”
Council voted unanimously May 31 to apply for $1,712,000 in grant funding to construct multi-phase improvements to the storm sewer system. District staff says the infrastructure project would resolve current and past Town Creek flooding problems. The deadline for submitting the application was May 31.
Phase 1 would involve the construction of a bigger intake above Murray Street and larger storm drain piping to be installed beside the current system. The first phase piping would run from the intake down to Foster Driver on the VLA.
Phase 2 would run from Foster Drive, cross Orchard Drive and go over the hill down to an outfall in the Fraser River.
Phase 3 would see new piping installed along the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s right-of-way along the river, under the Bridge of the 23 Camels to the District-owned Cayoosh Creek Park campground where it could be tied into the water treatment plant to be built at that location. Phase 3 would give the District the option of reusing and recycling the storm water and treating it at the water treatment plant, while still maintaining the ability to discharge the flow into the Fraser River.
According to documents prepared by TRUE Consulting, if the application is successful, the project would start in October 2012 and be completed by December 2013.
