Moose Deer Point First Nation is situated approximately 70 km south of Parry Sound, Ontario and is accessible by Highway 400 and Twelve Mile Bay Road. The First Nation community is comprised of three separate land parcels known as Isaac Bay, Gordon Bay, and King Bay. Roads within the Township of Georgian Bay interconnect all three of these land parcels. The community is located in an environmentally sensitive area known as the O’Donnell Point Nature Reserve.

The Moose Deer Point First Nation has been under a boil-water advisory for several years. The community has several individual surface water supplies and three communal surface water supplies. None of these are compliant with Ontario Regulation 170/03 and the current water supply is considered unsafe.

Neegan Burnside provided environmental and engineering services for the development of a new water treatment and distribution design system in the Moose Deer Point First Nation community. This will provide potable water that meets the Ontario Drinking Water Standards and provides adequate supply for all three existing parcels of land and
proposed future growth. Neegan Burnside prepared the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) Screening Report on behalf of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). This included collating existing information, defining the project description and the scope of the Environmental Assessment, describing the existing terrestrial and aquatic environment, identifying any project and environment interactions, consultation (public, department/agency and aboriginal) and determining effects and mitigation and cumulative effects, including accidents and malfunction, follow-up monitoring, and permitting approvals (Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Environment, Transport Canada, Environment Canada, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans).

Implementation of a single new water treatment system (as a replacement to the existing three communal systems and several independent systems) will provide a safe and reliable water supply for drinking and fire protection to the community. The new water treatment system has the capacity to serve the projected 20-year population. In addition, benefits include completion of a comprehensive CEAA screening report and development of appropriate mitigation and monitoring protocols in an environmentally sensitive area.socioeconomic factors. Cost estimates and cost management plans were developed. The preferred option in this case was continued use of diesel generators with upgrades as required.