Environment Minister and Ottawa MP John Baird announced millions more for sewage system upgrades on Tuesday in Ottawa, but said the money has nothing to do with the expected upcoming federal election.

Baird confirmed that the government will put $3 million toward a $9 million upgrade to several sewage gates this fall.

The federal government will also commit a total of $33 million to a future $100 million project that would prevent raw sewage from being released into the Ottawa River, Baird said at a news conference at Petrie Island beach.

The beach was closed for weeks in 2006 due to bacterial contamination. A raw sewage spill caused the contamination.

The money is $13 million more than previously announced.

"The federal government wants to be here not just in the short term for this first project this fall, but in the months and years ahead," Baird said.

"We may be or may not be into an election" but the government wants to take action while there is strong universal support for cleaning up the river, he said.

The federal sewage money for Ottawa is contingent on matching contributions from the municipal and provincial governments and on the city creating a mechanics and engineering plan for the upgrades.

The upgrades would separate sanitary and storm sewers, which are currently joined, causing the system to often overload during heavy rains.

To prevent sewage from backing up into people's homes, the system is designed to allow it to flow into the river via valves that open during storms and close again after.

Valves that were stuck open were blamed for a number of raw sewage spills.

A federal election call is expected as early as Friday for an Oct. 14 vote.