Pikwakanagan – A ground-breaking ceremony last Wednesday celebrating the construction of a new $78 million water treatment facility and distribution system in the community marks the beginning of a new era for the small community of about 500 residents.

Although construction of the plant and the installation of pipes started last fall, the official ceremony was delayed because of the opioid crisis in the community and the State of Emergency that was declared by chief and council. A tragedy in the chief’s family near the end of 2023 also delayed the announcements.

Chief Greg Sarazin, members of his council and senior staff members were joined by several dignitaries including the Grand National Chief of Canada Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, from the Pinaymoontang First Nation in Manitoba, Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reginald Niganobe, Chief of Mississauga #8 First Nation, near Blind River, and Jenica Atwin, MP, Fredericton, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hadju.

The total cost of the project, which will be built over a two-year period, is $77.9 million with $73.2 million coming from Indigenous Services Canada and about $4.7 million from Infrastructure Canada’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

Construction of water lines along all of the roads in Pikwakanagan began last fall when work also started on the water treatment plant which is being built adjacent to Our Lady of Nativity Church on the south shore of Golden Lake.

When completed in late 2025, the new system will provide safe, clean drinking water to over 200 homes and several community buildings.

“For too long we have questioned the safety of our water and the future of our well,” Chief Sarazin said. “We are very pleased to see the beginning stages of our water project come to life. This project is critical in meeting the needs of our community to supply clean, reliable drinking water.”
The chief added the project is also essential for the future growth of the community, stating the project will allow the community to secure a basic need for many generations to come.

Many wells in the community are contaminated with uranium and radium and other contaminants. Most of the water is not potable.

“A lot of the residents and the households depend on filtered bottled water for drinking and cooking,” he said.

Chief Sarazin said the main delays in the project were caused by bureaucracy, changes in government and the priorities of government.

“And of course the issue that First Nations have been largely ignored for mainstream health services,” he said. “In 2015 the federal government made a commitment to ensure that all communities in Canada would have access to safe and reliable potable water and that’s when things began to change for us.”

He said the chiefs, councils, executive directors and public works managers over the years have always made the water system a priority item.

“It’s been a team effort all the way along,” he said. “And it was one step at a time.”

Chief Sarazin said while it felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders when work began last fall, it was also at the height of the opioid crisis in the community which overshadowed everything.

“That’s why we are having this celebration today and not last fall,” he said.

He said the service will provide water to every household in the community with the potential to service new homes as they are added to the community.

“There is a shortage of land and building lots in Pikwakanagan,” he said. “We don’t have the land to accommodate everyone who wants to build here.

“It’s all surrendered Algonquin territory but we need to reconcile that with modern society and the fact that we have township lands, provincial lands and private lands. So we need to figure out how we can add to the First Nation, where we can add to the First Nation.”

He said adding land to the First Nation community is one of the initiatives the council has been working on through the treaty negotiations.

When the new plant is up and running, it will be operated by community members. All of the streets and roads that are being torn up during the construction phase will be repaved.