OLIVER PAIPOONGE — About 30 Rosslyn village households won't have their drinking water problem resolved in time for the holidays, but the local mayor says she's hopeful things will be back to normal in the first part of the new year.
"My hope would be sometime in March," Oliver Paipoonge Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis said on Thursday.
A chlorinated filtration system designed to remove high levels of arsenic from the village's communal well is under construction at a cost of $374,000.
Kloosterhuis noted that even after the system is up and running, it will have to pass an inspection by the Ministry of Environment before affected village residents can resume drinking water from household taps.
The municipality has no control over that part of the process, Kloosterhuis said.
In March, 2023, Thunder Bay District Health Unit issued a drinking-water advisory for the village after high levels of arsenic levels were detected.
The advisory, which remains in effect, warned the water was unfit to drink, even after being boiled.
After the advisory was issued, the municipality provided Rosslyn residents with bottled water at a cost of about $4,000 per month.
"We will continue to do that until the new (arsenic-removal) system has been approved and is ready to go," Kloosterhuis has said.
The Chronicle-Journal / Local Journalism Initiative
