Horse Lake First Nation has celebrated the grand opening of a new water treatment system, which came online in May 2018 after nearly three years of construction.
Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services, congratulated Horse Lake First Nation on the opening of their new system. The new water treatment system in the community is critical to its efforts to ensure future generations have access to clean water.
“Our government remains committed to working in partnership with First Nations to ensure that everyone in Canada has access to clean, reliable drinking water,” said Minister Philpott. “I offer my sincere congratulations to Chief Ramona Horseman and all the members of Horse Lake First Nation in Treaty 8 Territory on the opening of their new water treatment system.”
Congratulations to Chief Horseman and the Horse Lake #FirstNation (Treaty 8 Territory, Alberta) on the opening of their new water treatment system that will ensure access to safe water for the community. https://t.co/5X4EgwAQfo #CleanWater pic.twitter.com/hnO9BIz5Nf
— Minister Jane Philpott (@Min_IndServ) September 19, 2018
The new system features dual media filtration, reverse osmosis membranes, and ultra-violet light radiation. The source water for the system is a groundwater supply from three groundwater wells.
“We have been online for about six weeks and it has been a very big change in our water; it’s been like night and day,” said Chief Ramona Horseman. “It is a very exciting and a positive change; we now know that our water is safe to drink. This was years in coming, but we now know we have great water.”
The original water system in Horse Lake was constructed in the 1980s and required a significant overhaul. Indigenous Services Canada invested $9.5 million to support construction and the system will meet all the Canadian drinking water quality guideline requirements.
Horse Lake First Nation is located approximately 75 kilometres northwest of Grande Prairie, Alberta, and covers approximately 3,099 hectares of land. Horse Lake First Nation has 1,224 members, with approximately 494 living on-reserve.
