Ontario to invest in drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure

The Ontario government will invest nearly $44 million to help rehabilitate drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in the Niagara region.

The funding is through the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program’s Health and Safety Water Stream (MHIP-HSWS) and will support access to safe drinking water, housing, job creation, and protection for communities in the event of extreme weather events.

The MHIP is comprised of four funding streams: the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF), the Housing-Enabling Core Servicing (HECS) Stream, the Health and Safety Water Stream (HSWS), and the Agriculture and Irrigation Stream.

Niagara Region municipalities receiving MHIP-HSWS funding include the City of St. Catharines ($3.8 million) for the Martindale Pond Weir Rehabilitation project, the City of Welland ($10.7 million) to renew Broadway Area Sanitary, Water, and Storm Infrastructure, the Regional Municipality of Niagara ($24.5 million) for primary treatment upgrades to the Niagara Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the Town of Fort Erie ($4.5 million) to replace an existing watermain along Colony Road, Windmill Point Lane, and Staniland Park Road.

In January 2025, Ontario announced an initial investment of $175 million to launch the MHIP-HSWS. In August 2025, Ontario increased the MHIP to $4 billion to speed up construction of homes and core infrastructure, such as roads and water systems. With additional funding of $700 million announced in January 2026, Ontario’s investment in MHIP-HSWS totals $875 million.

Since 2024, Ontario has invested more than $272.5 million across Niagara Region through MHIP, the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) and Building Faster Fund, representing one of the largest infrastructure investments in the region’s history. MHIP has made about 800,000 new homes possible and rehabilitated water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure for about 375,000 existing homes.