WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM OFFICIALLY OPENED

After years of searching for solutions to water shortages and poor
quality water, almost 10,000 people in nine communities and eight rural
municipalities in the Wakaw-Humboldt area now have access to water from
the South Saskatchewan River.

Eldon Lautermilch, minister responsible for Sask Water,
Saskatoon-Dundurn M.P. Morris Bodnar and Jerome Strasser, chair of the
project's local steering committee, today joined local dignitaries to
officially open the Wakaw-Humboldt Regional Water Supply System.

The $32 million system currently serves the towns of Hoey,
St. Isidore-de-Bellevue, Domremy, Wakaw, Bruno, Humboldt, Muenster,
Annaheim and Lake Lenore. Arrangements to connect interested residents
of the rural municipalities of St. Louis, Bayne, Humboldt, Fish Creek,
St. Peter, Invergorden, Hoodoo and Lake Lenore will begin in 1997. The
system has capacity for other users to become involved later.

"We're very pleased to have been able to work with the people of Wakaw,
Humboldt and area to help bring them an assured supply of high quality
water," Lautermilch said. "The stability of an assured water supply
will ease residents' concerns and encourage them and their businesses
to remain in the area.

"In addition, it will likely attract new business and economic
activity. Already the project has led to the creation of five
permanent jobs in the area and about 279 short-term jobs were created
during the construction phase."

"Through the Infrastructure Works program and the Partnership Agreement
on Water-Based Economic Development (PAWBED), the federal government is
pleased to be involved in a project that improves the quality of life
locally and has the potential to create jobs and economic growth by
improving the local infrastructure and attracting value-added
industry," Bodnar said.

Bodnar spoke on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Ralph
Goodale and Dr. Jon Gerrard, Secretary of State for Western Economic
Diversification and minister responsible for implementation of the
infrastructure program in Western Canada.

"This state-of-the-art inland water supply system will supply the
service area with an abundant, affordable supply of potable water.
This valuable asset will enhance economic development and regional
viability into, and beyond, the 21st century," said Jerome Strasser,
Mayor of Bruno and chair of the project's local steering committee.


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For more information, contact:

Joanne Mysak Russ Krywulak
Communications Manager Director
Western Economic Canada-Saskatchewan
Diversification Canada Infrastructure Program
Saskatoon Regina
Phone: (306) 975-5942 Phone: (306) 787-8808
Toll-free: 1-800-203-9041

WD World Wide Web site:
English - http://www.wd.gc.ca
French - http://www.deo.gc.ca

Mart Cram Phil Adkins
Project Manager Federal Co-Secretary, PAWBED
Sask Water Prairie Farm Rehabilitation
Outlook Administration
Phone: (306) 867-5510 Saskatoon Phone: (306) 975-4773

BACKGROUNDER

Residents of the Wakaw-Humboldt area have long suffered from serious
water shortages and/or water quality problems. Shallow groundwater
supplies are marginal even in times of normal runoff and surface
supplies are very difficult to treat because of high organic content.
The deep groundwater sources used by most communities and farmers in
the region are very highly mineralized and expensive to treat. Over
the years, they have relied on wells, sloughs, lakes and creeks which
provided an intermittent supply of poor quality water.

The system includes a pump station on the South Saskatchewan River
west of Wakaw, two booster pump stations, a water treatment plant at
Wakaw and about 190 kilometres of pipeline.

Value-added processing and agricultural diversification,
especially livestock production, is expected to increase in the area.

Sask Water undertook a conceptual design for a regional water
supply system in 1991, at the request of the communities.

Sask Water worked with a local steering committee to develop a
project proposal for funding by the Canada-Saskatchewan Infrastructure
Works Program and the Partnership Agreement on Water-Based Economic
Development (PAWBED).

The local steering committee is chaired by Mayor Jerome Strasser
of Bruno and includes Mayor Doug Still of Humboldt, Louis Kolla, reeve
of the RM of Hoodoo, and Steve Hyrniuk, former administrator of the
town of Wakaw.

The total cost of the project is $32.3 million. PAWBED
contributed about $3.8 million and the Canada-Saskatchewan
Infrastructure Works Program contributed $2.8 million toward the
project. The remaining $25.7 million is being debt financed by Sask
Water and will be recovered over a 30-year period through water charges
to system users.

PAWBED is a federal-provincial agreement to help remove
water-based constraints to economic development and support enhanced
production, value-added processing or other economic development. It
is administered by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration under
the mandate of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and by Sask Water.

The Canada-Saskatchewan Infrastructure Works Agreement was signed
in January, 1994. The agreement enables Canada, Saskatchewan and
municipalities to co-operatively undertake and fund projects which will
renew and improve the quality of the public infrastructure and create
employment opportunities for Canadians.

The Wakaw-Humboldt Regional Water Supply System was a project
completed under the terms of the Crown Construction Tendering Agreement
and was completed on schedule and on budget.