LONDON — The Ontario government is investing more than $23 million to enable the construction of 17,576 new homes in the City of London. The funding is being delivered through the first round of investments under the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, which includes $970 million to help municipalities develop, repair, rehabilitate and expand drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
“We’re working with our municipal partners here in London and across Ontario to get more homes built faster,” said Premier Doug Ford. “With billions of dollars in investments in housing-enabling infrastructure, our government is helping get more shovels in the ground to keep the dream of homeownership alive and help families find a home that meets their needs and their budgets.”
The City of London will use the funding to expand the capacity of wastewater infrastructure in downtown London by replacing 175 metres of sanitary sewers under the Thames River and constructing new wastewater shafts. The project will support the city’s growing population, unlock more housing opportunities and support economic growth.
“By investing in drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities and connecting pipes to land, we are helping municipalities build 511,000 new homes through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, including over 17,500 homes through this project here in London,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “Building Ontario means building more homes and homes can’t be built without connections to drinking water and wastewater.”
The government is also allocating an additional $250 million and accepting a second round of applications through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, bringing the province’s total investment in the fund to $1.2 billion. Under the second intake, $120 million will be dedicated to projects in small, rural and northern municipalities without housing targets.
In this year’s budget, Ontario announced more than $1.8 billion in housing-enabling infrastructure funding through the $825 million Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and the $1 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, in addition to funding announced previously through the province’s Building Faster Fund. In response to the significant demand for investments in water and wastewater infrastructure to enable the construction of more homes and after consulting with municipalities, the province is transferring $275 million from the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program to the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund in order to meet this demand. In addition, the $120 million from the Building Faster Fund that was reserved for small, rural and northern communities is being flowed to these communities through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund.