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New water treatment plant only serves 9% ol community (Continued from page 2) development opportunities in our community, " said McColeman. "The new water treatment plant will provide a safe and reliable source of water for the community, and will help to bring real change and improvements for people living here." Brant MPP Dave Levac said although the province didn't provide any funding for the plant, he will con- tinue to raise his voice at Queen's Parl< to try and help Six Nations get piping extended to the entire re- serve. Kevin Martin , owner and president of First Nations Engineering, said there were doubts along the way that the small loca l firm could pull off the project."lt's truly an ac- complishment, " he said. Bernard Valcourt, federal minister of aboriginal af- fairs, was scheduled to be on hand but instead said in a press release, "Improving water quality in First Na- tion communities is a pri- ority for our government and I am extremely pleased that the residents of Six Nations of the Grand River can now access clean drinking water from a new water treatment plant in their community. These kinds of investments are steadily increasing the ef- fectiveness of water serv- ices in First Nation communities." The plant has a total pro- duction capacity of 4,050 cubic meters of water per day, which is four times higher than the production capacity of 1,036 cubic meters per day provided by the old plant. It has ·a 50-year lifespan and can support up to 7,370 users. Justin Gee, First Nations Engineering's lead designer of the project, said treated water from the plan t sur- passes all provincial and federal regulations . "It uses a multi-barrier approach. There are six steps in the treatment process that take it from source to tap. The quality of water that leaves this plant meets and exceeds all provincial and federal stan- dards of today. It's so tech- nologically advanced we're confident it will meet fu- ture standards that aren't even on the table yet," he said . It can store I million litres of water in two reser- voirs located beside the plant. Steve Lickers, water treat- ment plant operator, was congratulated for all the work he's done over the years running the old plant, and now, the new one. "I feel privileged to be a part of this today," he said. "I hope to spend many more years here looking after this building and the equipment for generations to come. Keeping the old plant going was a challenge and it's not something we're going to miss, that's for sure." Elected Chief Hill thanked previous councils for having the "fortitude and determination" to keep pushing forward on the plant. She said McColeman was a "real fighter" for Six Na- tions to get the funding for the project. She said it was important that many Six Nations peo- ple were involve<! in the construction. "We've got a lot of very talented people here," she said. "(Steve Lickers) is one of the most qualified water plant operators in the province. The community owes a debt of gratitude to Steve and his team." Last Tuesday, elected council approved almost $ 160,000 in add itiona l costs and changes to the plant and project manager Michael Murray said there will continue to be addi- tional costs in the coming year. At last week's council meeting, an irritated Dave Hill was the lone councillor opposed to every single change order brought forth by Murray. "When is this project going to be done?" he asked. "Every time you come in here, you 've got change orders, but when are these people (contrac- tors) going to get out of there?" Murray said contractors from construction com- pany Maple Reinders will remain at the plant until Dec. 27 to ensure there no deficiencies in the plant. Murray said the majority of the extra $160,000 in costs brought to council last week will come out of council's $2 million contin- gency fund . There is about $ I million left in the fund , he said. "We're well within our contingency." Some of the extra costs include: -$57 ,020 added to First Nations Engineering's con- tract to design a mainte- nance management system {$25,000 of that will come from the budgeted cost of the WTP and $32,020 will come from the contingency fund) . -Maple Reinders is getting an extra $77,698 to add items to the plant includ- ing: - an electronic chain hoist - a mechanical floor cleaner for plant operators to clean the plant's one acre area of floor space -furniture for the front of- fice - an extra $6,800 to clean the plant before the grand opening last week - additional shelving com- ponents -tweaking the heating sys- tem in the mechanical room . -$23 ,250 fo r a three-year maintenance contract with Former Elected Chief Bill Montour, eurrmt eleeted Chief Jlua Hill GJtd plGJtt teeh- nition Steve Liebrs show off the water. (Photo by Donna Durie) SELOG Narlock Inc. t ioned why a manual chain determined it when they -$797 for the plant's com- hoist was installed instead were testing the equip- puter systems. of the electric one that's ment, " he said. Last week 's requests replacing it. It was the second open- brought the project change Murray said he didn't ing for the plant. Six Na- order total to 20 since con- know why and he blamed tions Band Council held a struction began two years the decision on First Na- sneak preview to the plant ago. tions Engineering. in 2013 just before the Councillor Carl Hill ques- "They're the ones who elections.