'Life-changing': Oneida laying groundwork for new water supply pipe

An Indigenous community near London, Ont., is close to approving the design of a pipeline that will bring fresh drinking water to residents who've been on a boil-water advisory for the past four years. 

"This is life-changing infrastructure for our community," said Brandon Doxtator, a councillor with Oneida Nation of the Thames.

In March, the federal government announced a $43 million fund to deliver fresh drinking water to the community. It will require an 18 kilometre-long pipeline to carry the water from a junction point at an existing pipe in Mt. Brydges. The water will be provided and treated by the Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System, the same system that supplies north London, Middlesex Centre and about a dozen other area municipalities. 

For a community that had to declare a state of emergency due to low water levels last Christmas, the pipeline represents a better future, Doxtator said.

"I've had an elder tell me 'I can die knowing that my grandchildren will have clean water,'" he said. 

"I think a lot of community members were shocked by the fact that we actually got the funding," said Doxtator. "Once the announcement came out, we've been focusing in on the project details." 

Those details include hiring a contractor to build the pipeline, which has now been done. The final design will go to Onedia council for approval in the coming months. 

After that, construction on the pipeline is expected to start in March or April of 2024. 

From there the project is expected to take about 18 months. If all goes well, the new water line could be feeding into the Onedia water tower by September of 2025, "which is amazing," said Doxtator. 

For now, the community remains on a boil water advisory.

Helping with the hardship of relying on boiled or bottled water, some homes in the community are using faucet filters, Doxtator said. The small filters are easy to install and eliminate the need for boiling water. 

About 150 of the faucet filters have been delivered to the community's 500 households. Doxtator said more filters are coming, thanks to funding from the Dream Catcher Fund, a charitable organization that supports Indigenous communities.

"We're spending $15,000 a month on water bottles in the community," said Doxtator. "That's not feasible economically or environmentally."