Six Nations schools to be hooked up to water supply

Two schools on Canada’s most-populated Indigenous reserve will soon be connected to the community’s water supply.

Federal Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott was in Six Nations Monday, where she and Chief Ava Hill announced that the reserve’s water main would be extended to reach I.L. Thomas School and O.M. Smith School.

Currently, I.L. Thomas School uses well water which is treated on-site and O.M. Smith School uses water which is delivered to the building.

In addition to the schools, the extension will help allow future considerations to 400 homes in Six Nations. Those homes currently receive their water from wells, which is not always considered safe.

Hill says she hopes to see all properties on Six Nations eventually have full water service.

“This is something we have strategically and tirelessly been working towards for well over a decade,” Hill said in a press release.

Construction of the extension is expected to start in March and finish by the end of the year.

A $41-million water treatment plant in Six Nations opened in 2014. At the time of opening, it provided service for nine per cent of the reserve’s residents.