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Drinking water distribution system upgrades begin this month at Neyaashiinigmiing, part of a $60-million distribution and water pumping station replacement project to end a boil water advisory in place since January 2019.

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A ceremonial groundbreaking took place last week in the community for the water distribution part of the work for Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, north of Wiarton on the Bruce Peninsula.

“Spring signifies a season of new growth and new beginnings as days get longer, the cold turns to warmth, and grey bursts into vibrant colours,” Chief Veronica Smith said in the news release.

“This spring also signifies a huge milestone for our community, an endeavour that is long overdue; the implementation of critical infrastructure.”

Site work for the new pumping station began in November. Clean, treated drinking water from the bay is expected to flow by September 2023, an update to the community posted on the band’s website in February said.

Local company Bridge Excavating was appointed to install two booster pumping stations, 14 kilometres of water mains and 300 water services to individual properties, a news release from the band said.

The community of 751 people has 264 homes and 20 community buildings.

The new treatment plant’s capacity will “support growth over the next two decades,” Anna Comerton, an engineer who is project manager with Associated Engineering, said in the news release.

The new plant will replace the current treatment plant, which can’t always be relied on to adequately treat water drawn from Georgian Bay, water manager Fred Dubeau said in an interview last July.

The new plant will be state-of-the-art, with filtration, UV light disinfection and a big clear well beneath the water plant to hold water from the bay, he said.

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The current plant has no clear well in which to chlorinate the water and hold it to ensure disinfection. Currently, water is pumped through the plant and directly into the distribution system. Some filtering equipment it uses was obsolete when installed, as was the plant layout, Dubeau said.

Seventy per cent of the treated water is lost to leaks, mostly where service lines draw from a water main, Dubeau said. Repairs to the service lines have uncovered “farm-grade (pipes) to garden hose” in places.

The new plant will provide more water pressure, which will help with fire protection, he said.

Indigenous Services Canada is providing most of the funding, while the band’s share is $700,000, ISC confirmed in a letter to the band last July 2.

Meanwhile, an April 1 newsletter to the community on the band’s website invites members to apply for their share of a First Nations drinking water class action lawsuit settlement.

The lawsuit was brought to remedy Canada’s failure to take all reasonable steps to ensure that First Nations reserves have adequate access to safe drinking water. The final settlement agreement was approved by courts last December.

The roughly $8-billion settlement includes $6 billion for community water and wastewater infrastructure and the rest is for compensation for both individuals and First Nations, the newsletter says.

The settlement applies to certain First Nations and their members who were subject to a drinking water advisory that lasted at least one year between Nov. 20, 1995 and June 20, 2021. Neyaashiinigmiing’s boil water advisory has been in place since 2019, the newsletter noted. Claims must be made by March 7, 2023.

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Originally Appeared Here