Brooklyn water and sewer project on hold

By Nick Moase

THE ADVANCE

NovaNewsNow.com

Lack of government funding has put the Brooklyn water and sewer project on hold for this year.

The Canada Nova Scotia Building Canada Fund Communities component rejected the Region of Queens application for round one funding.

“It doesn’t mean we’re out of it, but it does mean we’re out of it for this year,” said Region of Queens Municipality Director of Engineering and Works, Brad Rowter.

The Region applied for the cost-sharing grant from the program at the end of 2007.

The government program works in rounds, which has recently finished round one.

Urgent water and wastewater projects used up the round one funding.

The Brooklyn project did not receive round one funding because it is not urgent.

The process does not end there however. Rejection from round one automatically sent the Region to round two. Round two is decided sometime in the fall.

The project will take place next year if approved in the fall.

“Time is getting along too far, and we don’t want to have that street opened up in the wintertime,” said Rowter.

He added, while they do some projects in the wintertime they try not to do main thoroughfares, since it takes longer and makes it more inconvenient to the public.

Rowter is confidant in round two, the Region will get approval. When approved, work will begin sometime in the spring or early summer of 2009.

The extension will bring water and sewer mains to the core of Brooklyn. This includes parts of Shore Road and Markland Avenue.