Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Oneida Nation of the Thames, a First Nation just south of London, Ont., that has been on a boil-water advisory since 2019, has secured $43 million in federal funding to bring treated drinking water to the community. The connection to the Lake Huron Primary Water System will supply potable water to more than 500 homes and public buildings to the community, which is home to nearly 2,200 residents.
Oneida Nation of the Thames First Nation (ONTFN) has been under a boil water advisory since 2019. However, the first steps in the slow process of changing that are expected shortly. “There is an agreement coming, it's just at the table now,” said ONTFN Chief Todd Cornelius. “We're expecting to inform our community soon of the agreement.” Cornelius was tight lipped about the timeline, but CTV News has learned an announcement is imminent.
Canada’s Indigenous services minister made a promise to Oneida Nation of the Thames on Monday, pledging cash to connect the First Nation to a water supply system that would give residents clean drinking water. “The department and the government of Canada will be able to support this work financially,” Minister Patty Hajdu said in an interview. “The money is committed, and obviously, this is super important, not only to the Oneida Nation of the Thames but to the federal government in our work to make sure that everybody has access to clean drinking water.”
Local and federal officials are cautiously optimistic construction will be underway this spring for a water pipeline to serve the Oneida Nation of the Thames in southwestern Ontario. The pipeline, still in the design phase, is expected to be 18 kilometres long and connect the First Nation community with clean drinking water through the Lake Huron Water Supply System.
Luann Smith will be paying close attention to what Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu has to say on Monday about the federal government's willingness to fund a pipeline that will bring clean drinking water to Oneida Nation of the Thames. Smith, 67, is a lifelong resident of Oneida, a community that has been under a boil water advisory since 2019. Hajdu is scheduled to be a guest on Monday's edition of London Morning and will speak with host Rebecca Zandbergen about the situation.
As a years-long boil water advisory continues to drag out, there’s cautious optimism that clean water will be flowing to residents of Oneida Nation of the Thames. But it won’t be any time soon. In fact it could be a number of years yet before the community can lift its boil water advisory. "Over the holidays I heard from a lot of community members feeling a sense of hopelessness, but also a sense of guilt," said Oneida Councillor Brandon Doxtator, who oversees environmental issues for the community." Just taking a five minute shower has caused community members to be worried about their part of exacerbating the problem," he said.
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.
Oneida Nation of the Thames officials have announced the cancellation of a conserve water alert in the First Nation, after a serious water shortage was first announced on Dec. 16, followed by the declaration of a state of emergency on Dec. 20. Oneida Nation, located just southwest of London, Ont., originally declared a conserve water alert due to the effect of extreme weather conditions on the First Nation's water supply. This put residents under an order to limit water use with the water reserve in the community's water tower, the primary source of water for the 546 homes and 22 buildings in the territory, at all-time low levels.
Tragedy five years ago that claimed the lives of a father and his four children on the Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario has the community insistent that the federal government work with them to meet their water needs. On Dec. 15, the First Nation declared a state of emergency and ordered community members to start conserving water. The water alert was issued after a member reported his tap water was coming out brown, consistent with a high iron content. An investigation indicated that the level of the aquifer from the Thames River that feeds into the Oneida water tower is low. The tower services 546 homes and 22 community buildings.
Leaders of an Indigenous community near London, Ont., are calling for the federal government to work with them to help solve chronic water supply problems after a state of emergency was issued Tuesday due to low water levels. Residents of Oneida Nation of the Thames are under an order to conserve water and limit its use with the community's water tower at an all-time low. The tower is the primary source of water for the 546 homes and 22 buildings in the territory.
A decision to extend the Lake Huron water supply system to a London-area First Nation has earned the full support of water board members. The Lake Huron Water Supply System management board unanimously voted Thursday to endorse a request by Oneida Nation of the Thames to connect to the water supply system, making it the first London-area First Nation to join one of the region’s two water supply systems. “It’s exciting to hear our local First Nation is one of the first in the area to pursue this type of partnership,” said Adrian Chrisjohn, chief of Oneida Nation of the Thames, southwest of London.
ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES — Jennifer George’s home sits on a gravel road that separates this Indigenous community near London, Ont., from the neighbouring township of Southwold. On George’s side of the road, virtually no one trusts the drinking water that flows from the Thames River to their homes. Many have the same 18-litre blue jugs that line the floor of George’s kitchen, ubiquitous sources of water for drinking and cooking.
