Healthy water is a priority for towns in Saskatchewan. Communities around the region received grants from the federal and provincial governments for infrastructure in 2017, and the Village of Alida was one of several to put it toward upgrades on their water treatment plants.

Mayor Jim Boettcher revealed the scope of the project.

"We're building a new building for water, and we're going to put a filtration system and fresh lines in. At the present time our water is brought in from out of town, and we put it into a holding system and then pump it into town. Now we'll have things set up so it won't be coming into town, and instead we'll have treated water for everyone. It will be a lot better."

He says that, in total, over $240,000 came from both governments combined.

"We had the upgrades priced out at about $320,000 about 3 years ago. Of course, being a small village we don't have that much money sitting around so we've been saving for it. Now that this grant became available, we're going for it."

He concludes by noting that the funds came as a welcome surprise.