Thursday, January 12, 2012

Shoal Lake Water Review Ordered

The Ontario Government has launched a review to see if Winnipeg's plan to extend its water and sewer pipes to rural municipalities violates any historical agreements involving the source of the city's water.

Ontario gave Winnipeg permission to draw water from Shoal Lake in Northwestern Ontario for municipal purposes in 1913.

Natural Resources Spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski says the department's legal branch started to sift through 100 years of water agreements two weeks ago.

The review comes as one First Nation in Shoal Lake threatens to sue the city, saying Winnipeg has no right to sell water before it resolves decades' worth of claims over lake water.