Budget Bulletin: Keeping Our Water Safe

Keeping Our Water Safe

• $850,000 Clean Water Strategy.
• $195 million available for "green" infrastructure.
• School water testing.

Water is the life blood of the environment. In Nova Scotia we are lucky to have plentiful supplies of good drinking-water sources, and government wants to keep it that way. Waste and wastewater treatment, water testing, public health practices and education underscore our need for maintaining and improving water quality and quantity.

Environment and Labour is the lead department in managing Nova Scotia’s water resources and will soon release its Clean Water Strategy. A total of $850,000 will be dedicated to the efficient and sustainable use of Nova Scotia’s water resources, proactive management, education and protection of our ecosystems.

The government of Nova Scotia will implement its water resource management strategy on behalf of, and with the help of, all Nova Scotians, recognizing that the state of the public’s water resources is critical to the province’s future.

A minimum of $195 million from provincial, federal and municipal governments will be available under the Canada-Nova Scotia Infrastructure Program for the renewal of the physical infrastructure that communities need to attract and support economic growth, beginning with the most basic -- the infrastructure that provides us with clean, healthy water.

Under the six-year Canada-Nova Scotia Infrastructure Program, the Nova Scotia government will invest $65 million in individual projects with a focus on "green" infrastructure, including projects related to water and wastewater systems, water management, solid waste management and recycling. Approximately $13 million of the province’s portion will be spent in 2001-02. This brings the total investment in this program since 1994 to $147 million, which will result in $441-million worth of work completed around the province by 2006.

Approximately $1 million of this year’s budget is allocated for the safety of children in Nova Scotia’s schools, including regular water quality testing and maintenance. School boards are responsible for implementing many of the occupational health and safety regulations, and it is important to ensure they have the tools to keep teachers, staff and students safe.

Government is thinking in terms of sustainable development-using and managing resources and the environment in a way that maintains a strong economy and preserves a healthy environment today and in the years to come.

NOTE: For other 2001-02 budget information, visit the Department of Finance Web site at www.gov.ns.ca/finance .