Irwin pledges $11 million to clean water

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An $11 million federal commitment to clean up this community's water has come too late for many residents.

Hundreds of members of the Mathias Columb Band in northern Manitoba fled the reserve after a ninth resident in one year was diagnosed and hospitalized for infectious hepatitis. The reserve's water supply is so contaminated by sewage provincial authorities have deemed it deadly.

National attention was drawn to Pukatawagan after band chief Ralph Caribou decided to evacuate the reserve to The Pas following a provincial medical report declaring a public medical emergency. Days later approximately 200 residents began a 650-kilomete protest march from The Pas to Winnipeg.

Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin promised to overhaul the entire sewage and water systems after flying into the beleaguered community July 11 for a three-hour meeting with band leaders. He pledged an immediate $3 million to upgrade the existing treatment plant.

According to provincial readings, the system is so badly designed water has a higher bacterial count after treatment than before. A sewage discharge is located 400 metres upstream from the water intake.

While band members have been boiling their drinking water since last November, the crisis came to a head at the end of June. Hundreds of residents had been suffering from intestinal disorders and many from severe skin rashes after washing with the contaminated water. Manitoba's chief medical officer Dr. John Guilfoyle declared a public health emergency in the area June 29, after discovering the sewage content of the water was high enough to kill susceptible people.

Caribou initiated an evacuation of the reserve two weeks later, with more than half of the 1,700-member community being airlifted or taken by train to The Pas, 200 km south of Pikatawagan.

The Opaskawayak Cree Nation offered to host the evacuees, some of whom are being billeted by families, while others have set up tents.