The federal government is putting $5.875 million toward modernizing the East Selkirk Wastewater Treatment Lagoon, a project that will expand capacity and allow year-round discharges in the Rural Municipality of St. Clements, Manitoba.
Ginette Lavack, the member of Parliament for Saint-Boniface-Saint-Vital, announced the funding on June 30, 2026, through the Direct Delivery stream of the new Build Communities Strong Fund. The lagoon sits right beside the City of Selkirk and treats wastewater for a growing region that stretches over an area larger than Toronto.
The money will pay to expand treatment and capacity so the lagoon can discharge continuously all year while meeting environmental rules. It will also build a new pipe, called an outfall, that carries treated water into the Red River. This upgrade will help protect the river and cut reliance on aging septic systems across the area.
St. Clements Mayor Debbie Fiebelkorn said the project is a milestone for communities along the Red River corridor. She noted that it will let the region manage wastewater responsibly for decades and lays the groundwork for a service-sharing deal with the neighbouring RM of East St. Paul.
The municipality counted 11,586 residents in the 2021 Census, a 6.5 percent jump from five years earlier. That growth has put pressure on local services, making it harder to keep up without major infrastructure work. The Build Communities Strong Fund is part of a $51-billion federal plan rolling out over 10 years to strengthen towns and cities across the country.
