The federal and provincial governments have announced major funding for water improvements for First Nations in Ontario.
Both Nipissing First Nation (NFN) and Dokis First Nation will be benefiting from the program.
Nipping First Nation is seeing over $2 million from the federal government as well as over $500, 000 from the province for the replacement of their ‘VLA Water Plant’.
“Because we’re so geographically spread out from West Nipissing to North Bay, and have pockets of communities in between all along the stretch of [Highway 17], it’s not like we just have one water system,” said NFN Chief Scott McLeod. “We have several water systems, some larger, some smaller, that are in need of constant upgrading. Funding hasn’t been flowing readily for those treatment plants, just like any other First Nation across Canada. So, this is welcomed news. It’s one of our smaller communities that will be receiving the funds. […] This is good news. We’ll be getting to work shortly.”
Chief McLeod says they received the news just last week, and NFN’s Director of Infrastructure should have a plan on when the upgrades will begin in the coming weeks.
The project in the Dokis First Nation will rehabilitate and expand the wastewater lagoon. The modifications involve the implementation of a pre-treatment system and installation of electricity on-site. These improvements will enable the lagoon to meet current federal and provincial discharge requirements, reduce the accumulation of wastewater sediment and help meet current and future wastewater treatment demands. That project will see $1.9M from the feds and nearly $500,000 from the province.