The chief of Behchokǫ̀ and MLA for Monfwi both say new federal funding to address longstanding water and sewer infrastructure issues in Rae will “make a huge difference.”
“Hopefully we don’t have to worry about frozen pipe issues and leakages and pipes busting,” Chief Bertha Rabesca Zoe told Cabin Radio.
“We’re always repairing every week all through the winter, and same thing with Edzo.”
On Monday, the federal government announced $4.83 million, to be supported by $1.6 million in other funding, to replace underground water and sewer infrastructure in the community. The Canadian government also committed $536,250 – plus $178,750 from other levels of government – to study and upgrade the raw water supply system serving Rae’s water treatment plant.
While deadlines for the work have not yet been finalized, Rabesca Zoe said she hopes for an “aggressive timeline.”
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“This funding is not just an investment in infrastructure, it is an investment in the people of Behchokǫ̀ and the future of our community,” she said.
‘We’ve been ignored for so long’
For years, Tłı̨chǫ leaders and residents have raised concerns about water problems in Behchokǫ̀ and the need to replace ageing infrastructure.
Residents have faced brown water running from their taps and raw sewage backing up in their bathtubs. Last winter, several families were left without running water for weeks when the raw water intake and underground pipes connected to homes froze.
“We’ve been ignored for so long,” Monfwi MLA Jane Weyallon Armstrong told Cabin Radio. “We have a lot of ageing infrastructure that should have been taken care of a long time ago.”
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
She said lobbying efforts by current and previous chiefs and council, as well as collaboration between different levels of government, made Monday’s funding announcement possible.
Both Weyallon Armstrong and Rabesca Zoe said not having access to clean running water or sewage services has huge impacts on residents, particularly their mental health.
“When you already have a crowded housing issue, overcrowding and all that, and then add that with no water, people have really nowhere to go,” Rabesca Zoe said.
In some cases, residents have had to use water jugs and honey buckets at home – and do their laundry and bathe elsewhere.
Some people have ended up staying in hotel rooms in Yellowknife while water issues were resolved, but Rabesca Zoe said not everyone wants to commute between Yellowknife and Behchokǫ̀, and some people were concerned about leaving their homes unattended. Weyallon Armstrong said being away from home particularly impacts kids and may mean they miss school.
More support needed
While pleased with the funding announced on Monday, both Rabesca Zoe and Weyallon Armstrong said more support is needed to address water issues in Edzo, among other infrastructure challenges.
Rabesca Zoe said Edzo will likely face more frozen pipes this winter, which will mean added costs for the community government. She vowed to “lobby as aggressively” as she can for funding to address the issue.
“This is the beginning,” Weyallon Armstrong said, highlighting the housing crisis in the Tłı̨chǫ region and the need to replace or upgrade other ageing infrastructure, including schools and health centres.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
NWT MP Rebecca Alty said the application for federal funding to replace water and sewer infrastructure in Edzo is still under review. Alty said she would continue to work with the Behchokǫ̀ government on the project.
Monday’s funding announcement for Rae was part a broader $44.9 million the federal government committed to support water, wastewater and solid waste infrastructure in 14 NWT communities.
The money comes from $74.2 million earmarked for the territory over 10 years through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, which was announced last year.
