SHAWANAGA, FIRST NATION, ROBINSON HURON TREATY TERRITORY, ONT.— Shawanaga First Nation recently celebrated the completion of their new water treatment plant, which is being touted as an important milestone in the community’s efforts to strengthen access to safe, clean drinking water.
The centralized water system will serve 101 homes and 10 community buildings, explains a release.
Drawing water from groundwater wells, the plant uses multiple treatment processes to help provide safe drinking water, including iron and manganese removal, ultraviolet disinfection and chlorination. This project also included an expansion of the community’s water distribution system.
The project cost $31 million, with more than $26 million coming from Indigenous Services Canada and approximately $5 million through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’s Green Infrastructure Stream, delivered by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada and the Government of Ontario, the release adds.
Shawanaga First Nation is an Anishinaabe community on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay and is home to approximately 179 people living on reserve.
A boil water advisory for the Shawanaga Public Water System was issued in July 2024 and became long-term in July 2025. Once the expansion of the distribution system is complete, Chief and Council can decide to lift the drinking water advisory.
