NORTHWEST ANGLE NO. 33 FIRST NATION — The residents of a First Nation on Lake of the Woods are celebrating the termination of drinking water advisories and the opening of a new water treatment plant.
The community marked the occasion Tuesday in conjunction with a visit by Patty Hajdu, the federal Indigenous Services minister.
A centralized water plant at the First Nation's Angle Inlet site will provide reliable access to safe water for 100 residents, and has the capacity to meet projected population growth for the next 20 years.
The federal government provided about $19 million for the project, which also includes raw water intake and distribution system upgrades.
Northwest Angle No. 33 First Nation currently has one certified operator to keep the treatment plant running, but the government-funded Centralized Water and Wastewater Hub, delivered by Anishinaabeg of Kabapikotawangag Resource Council, is training and mentoring other community members.
Chief Darlene Comegan called the completion of the plant and the revocation of long-term drinking water advisories a major accomplishment.
"Access to clean water is essential for us all. While we had to overcome a number of challenges to complete this new water treatment plant, this project secures clean and reliable drinking water for our Angle Inlet community now and for years to come."
Hajdu said the government is doing what's needed to address the problem of long-term drinking water advisories on First Nations across the country, and said the issue was ignored for too long by successive governments.
Northwest Angle's drinking water advisories were declared as far back as 2011, and involved three pumphouses at Angle Inlet which are being replaced by the centralized system.
The First Nation is geographically separated into two sites, one on the west side of Lake of the Woods and the other on the east side.
