Siksika Nation gaining new water wells

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Two new water wells will be built on Siksika Nation to enhance water security, to meet growing community needs and to reduce environmental impacts.

The federal and provincial governments, along with additional funding, means $2.1 million is available to construct the wells, which should be in place by June 2021.

According to a news release from the federal government, the wells will provide a stable source of feed water for the Arthur A. Youngman treatment facility, which supplies potable water to Siksika, North Camp, Stobart Lake and West End townsites.

Currently, the Arthur A. Youngman treatment facility uses water diverted from the Bow River. Water is treated using a conventional system including chemical injection, flash mixing, flocculation, settling and filtration, according to Sim-Flo Systems Inc., the company responsible for the facility.

The new wells will help the treatment facility comply with wastewater effluent quality regulations and standards. They will increase the community’s capacity to adapt to and withstand climate related impacts, natural disasters and extreme weather events, according to the news release.

A total of eight new water infrastructure projects across Alberta – including Siksika Nation – were announced on Oct. 26 and are expected to create more than 600 jobs. The government of Canada is investing more than $41.6 million in these projects through the Green Infrastructure Stream (GIS) of the Investing in Canada plan. The government of Alberta is providing over $39.5 million, while funding applicants are contributing more than $26.4 million.