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The Village of Belledune announced in a press release last week that it has completed an agreement with Xstrata Zinc for the ownership and upgrade of the water and sewer system on Chaleur Drive in Belledune. The upgrade of the system will begin at once and is expected to last several weeks. Following the upgrade by Xstrata, the village will become the owner and operator of the system.

Chaleur Drive, also known as Town Site Subdivision, was built 40 years ago by a predecessor company to Xstrata to house its employees. Although the homes were sold off years ago, the water and sewerage system is still maintained by the company. It was due for an upgrade, and with the company's mine due to close in 2010, the company approached the village to take over the water and sewerage system.

The cost of the upgrade is expected to be $1.5 million. Xstrata will contribute $1 million to the project. The village in its press release said that "the remainder is being paid for by another party to be announced at a later date". (This may involve funds available for such infrastructure under the federal gas tax scheme, which come with restrictions on when and by whom the funding may be announced.)

The village says that it will receive a new water and sewerage system for that part of the village at no cost to its taxpayers, except for operating and maintenance costs paid for solely by users on that system.