Oneida has tentative deal to pipe in Lake Huron water, seeks federal money to cover cost

To anyone driving by, the corner of Springwell Road and Falconbridge Drive near Mt. Brydges, Ont., appears to be nothing special, a place where two roads meet behind a backdrop of farm fields.

It's the kind of rural intersection that resembles any other in southwestern Ontario.

But for the people who live less than 20 kilometres away at Oneida Nation of the Thames, it's a crossroads that holds the key to what could become a transformative boost in the quality of life for the Indigenous community of 2,000 residents.

Buried beneath the gravel shoulder of the intersection is a 16-inch diameter wide water main. The pipe is part of the Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System, the same vast network that carries treated Lake Huron water to 15 municipalities across an area the size of Prince Edward Island. Parts of London, along with Middlesex Centre, Strathroy-Caradoc, Lucan-Biddulph, Grand Bend and others, are supplied by this system.

CBC News has learned that Oneida has struck a supply agreement with the Lake Huron system to have an 18-kilometre pipe built to carry water to their community from the main at Springwell and Falconbridge.

The early design work has been done by Stantec Inc., and the City of London is overseeing a procurement process for bidders to do more detailed design work. The environmental assessment is complete.

Once the detailed design work is done — which could happen as quickly as this spring — a construction contract could be issued later this year.

"We're ready to go with the detailed design," said Andrew Henry, director of regional water for the Lake Huron and Elgin area water supply system. "It is encouraging. There's just a bit of a process to go with the federal government."

That process involves Oneida securing the project funding from the federal government, in this case, Indigenous Services Canada. And while the pipeline will be life-changing for Oneida, it will also be costly.

The pipeline has a projected preliminary cost of between $22 million and $25 million.

And that only covers the cost of bringing the water to Oneida.

Brandon Doxtator, a councillor with Oneida Nation, says the water mains in the community will need to be "bumped up in size" and upgraded to handle the water volume if the pipeline is built. Those updates could run at least $25 million more.

They've had meetings with Indigenous Services Canada about the project but don't have a funding committment. CBC News reached out to Indigenous Service Canada for a statement about the project but did not receive a comment by the deadline on Tuesday.

"There has been a reluctance on Indigenous Services' part to meaningfully fund this," said Doxtator on Tuesday.

"They're coming back with less than what our community needs."

Even if the federal government comes through with the money, Oneida will have to pay the water system the same wholesale rate — just under 52 centres — they charge municipalities.

Meanwhile, Oneida continues to struggle with persistent water problems. Before Christmas, low water levels forced the community to issue a conserve water order. Higher water levels have since ended the conserve water order, but a boil water advisory remains in effect.

Potable water continues to be delivered by truck, and a state of emergency remains in place.

"The government is still being slow to respond to this emergency," said Doxtator.