Government officials were on hand at Shoal Lake 40 First Nation yesterday to break ground on a water treatment plant that will end a 22-year-long boil water advisory.

"This is like a dream we've had for a long time, having fresh water," Elder Julia Redsky said at the announcement. Redsky says it will take a while to get used to being able to drink water from the tap once the clean water starts flowing.

Kenora MP Bob Nault was also on hand for the announcement.

"This is a $33 million project. It's not just the water treatment plant. It's the distribution system, fire hydrants and everything that goes with it," he said.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of next year. Ottawa was also a partner in the $30 million Freedom Road project, which connected the man-made island with the Trans-Canada earlier this year.

The community of just under 300 residents was created, in order to provide fresh drinking water to the City of Winnipeg.

Freedom Road and providing clean drinking water for the First Nation became an election issue in 2015, prompting a visit by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the spring of 2016.

Ottawa says it has cleared 87 long-term drinking water advisories since 2015, and they hope to clear the remaining 56 by the end of 2021.

frdm