The RM of De Salaberry has received a provincial grant of up to $500,000 for improvements to the water distribution system in St. Malo. Reeve Marc Marion says the grant is based on 50-50 funding so the municipality will have to spend an equal amount. He outlines the main projects they plan to do.

"One is replacing or re-aligning old infrastructure on road allowances. Some of the (water) lines are crossing private property so we'd like that infrastructure on municipal property so that we can assure ourselves that, when we're doing maintenance, we're not crossing private property. The second project is looping of dead end lines so that we can shut off part of the town where we're doing repairs and stuff and to assure ourselves the treatment process is being constant across the town of St. Malo. And the last thing is replacing old main lines."

Marion says they hope to be able to access the entire $500,000 grant but notes it is a challenge for a small community like St. Malo to come up with $500,000 in matching dollars.

"The LID (Local Improvement District) of St. Malo will have to come up 50% of the funds and they do have funds in their reserves. We're just going to have to be smart on how we're spending it so that we can get as much of that grant as we can. The issue is always the funding on the LID side. St. Malo is not a very big town. We appreciate the grant but it's still a stress on the community."

He notes some money may have to be raised through a debenture.

Marion says the next step is to put the projects out to tender and see what comes back in terms of cost estimates.