Fort McKay gets upgrade to water treatment plant

Page 3

With concern over drinking water quality on First Nations a major issue across the country, Fort McKay opened an upgraded water treatment facility on June 8.

Chief Jim Boucher, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Mayor Melissa Blake, and Indian and Northern Affairs Regional Director General Roy Bird performed a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the Fort McKay Membrane Water Treatment Plant.

Increased water demands, aging equipment and advancing water quality standards are all reasons for the upgrade.

Melvin Grandjam, capital officer for the Fort McKay First Nation, said that with the high cost of living in the very active oil field economy in nearby Fort McMurray, many people are moving back to the reserve. This has created a housing boom on the reserve and increased pressure on the water treatment plant.

Grandjam said the old treatment plant that was originally built in 1988 could no longer provide enough quality water.

The upgraded water treatment plant will be able to treat a maximum of 950 cubic metres of water daily for an estimated population of 915 in 2025. The system also includes increased storage capacity with the addition of another underground storage reservoir.

Grandjam said the improved plant supplies water to treaty members of Fort McKay and to Metis living on the reserve. The ratio is 78 per cent treaty, and 22 per cent Metis.

The Ells River is the water source for the nation. Seasonal turbidity variations and high organic content are problems from the river water that the treatment plant has to deal with.

"The need for clean water is paramount," said Anne McLellan, minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness in a press release. "The government of Canada is committed to working with First Nations to ensure that community members are protected and that there is clean and safe household water."

Public health concerns and recent developments in water quality research have led to new guidelines for filtration and disinfection.

The river water is pumped through a supply main pipe to a raw storage reservoir located on the north side of the reserve. This raw water flows into the treatment plant where it is treated using a state-of-the-art membrane filtration system.

The system uses enhanced coagulation and alternative disinfectants-such as ozone, chlorine dioxide and chloramines-to reduce the formation of harmful by-products due to the chlorinating process of organic-laden water.

Parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium and treatment by-products are the new issues surrounding water quality.

The cost of the upgrade was $3.8 million with Indian and Northern Affairs contributing $3 million, and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo picking up the other $840,000.

The upgrade is part of the First Nations Water Management Strategy of the federal government that includes $600 million in new funds.

The water treatment upgrade has been in the planning since September 2000 as a joint project between the Fort McKay First Nation and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

"I am very pleased to have such an important project completed," said Blake.

"There is no denying the necessity for our communities to have as much healthy water as they need, not only for today, but for the future as well."