Casselman, Ont. mayor pitches province for water pipeline funds

For many Casselman residents, the water still isn't "quite right."

"We still get quite a bit of buildup on our showerheads and our appliances I find," said Amanda Brasseur. "We've been here so long but the water would be one of the factors why we would move out of Casselman."

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For months last year, residents dealt with smelly, discoloured water caused by high levels of manganese, a naturally occurring mineral. The municipality gets its water from the South Nation River and it plans to build a 22-kilometre pipeline to connect its system to the one in Clarence-Rockland.

"That stuff is all stuff that's going to take forever. It's going to cost a fortune," said Caroline Thomspon.

Casselman's mayor met with Ontario's infrastructure minister at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa this week to discuss the tens of millions of dollars in funding needed for the massive project.

"Right now we're looking at $101 million. What we need funding for is $75 million," said Geneviève Lajoie. "They seemed very receptive. They encouraged us to apply for funding for this round and then the next round coming up in the fall."

Residents hope it is a permanent solution but it is several years away.

"I know it's doable but how much [is] that infrastructure [going to] add to the water bill?" said Brasseur.

"It will solve it over time but it doesn't solve it now," said Thompson. "And the thing is, we have people with babies. They're worried about the manganese. They're worried about what the manganese over the long term is going to do."

On Wednesday, Clarence-Rockland announced $18 million in provincial funding for its water infrastructure, which includes a plan to design and build a new water main.

Casselman could hook up to that water main and Lajoie says that could help reduce the cost of its project.