RM of Montcalm Reeve Derek Sabourin says building a new lagoon for St. Jean is a major priority.

Sabourin notes the project is ready to go, they're just waiting on funding approval from the federal and provincial governments.

“It's desperately needed,” he said. “Our lagoon is an older lagoon that's past it's best before date by far. It's a priority in our municipality but hopefully the province sees it the same way and the federal government.”

The cost of the new lagoon is estimated to be around $3 million. Sabourin is hoping the federal and provincial governments will pick up 75 per cent of the bill.

He says they plan to build an entirely new lagoon that will be moved away from the river to avoid flooding. The new lagoon will be quite a bit bigger than the old one, which Sabourin says keeps filling up this year due to the wet conditions.

Sabourin adds council is also studying the feasibility of a new lagoon for the community of Letellier, noting that project could take years to develop.