The Town of Nanton finally got the shovels in the ground for their new wastewater treatment plant.

They even went so far as to hold an official sod turning this week.

Mayor Rick Everett says the $11.8 million plant is 90-percent funded through federal and provincial grants, meaning Nanton taxpayers will shoulder a whole lot less of the cost than they first thought.

"We went into a borrowing bylaw a little over a year ago for $5 million. Right now with the way all the governments have come together and helped us out, we're hoping to keep this under half a million dollars, which is quite a significant difference. We're working hard at maintaining those costs and keeping it in there. But I would sooner have to borrow half a million, than I would $5 million."

Everett says one of the best parts of having the new "state of the art" plant is it'll allow the Town to add as many as two thousand new residents, which is where things are headed according to the Mayor.

As for the old plant which is being held together with a fair amount of duct tape, elbow grease and good old fashioned finger crossing, Everett says it just needs to hang on for another 11 months before it'll get shut down.

But he was also quick to point out the incredible job being done by the plant operators in keeping it up and running to provincial standards.

The new plant will be up and running next March.