SKWLĀX TE SECWEPEMCÚL̓ECW (LSLB)
Building the Groundwork for Community Water Infrastructure (Community Water Treatment System Project) Project Management Essentials Training, 2024
WHO THEY ARE?
Skwlāx te Secwepemcúlecw (Little Shuswap Lake Band) is a Secwépemc community at the head of Little Shuswap Lake near Chase in British Columbia’s southern interior. The community’s identity is anchored to Secwépemc lands and waters the Shuswap system that sustains culture, livelihood, and intergenerational responsibility.
Here, stewardship is a lived responsibility. Skwlāx participates in a watershed with formal water-quality objectives and regional monitoring evidence-based guardrails that reflect shared Indigenous caretaking principles and a commitment to keep the lake healthy for people and salmon.
That ethic shapes governance. Leadership pairs Secwépemc values with modern planning and partnership across neighbouring Nations and regional bodies to build capacity, strengthen essential services, and protect what endures so families have dependable foundations and the territory’s waters remain healthy on Secwépemc terms.
WHAT THEY NEEDED
Skwlāx was ready to move from piecemeal fixes to a single, community-owned path for safe, dependable water. The task was to turn stewardship into an executable plan: set a clear mandate and outcomes that would stand up to evidence and funding scrutiny and map an end-to-end lifecycle feasibility through design and build to operations with decision points leaders could steer. The work needed to be standards-aligned and time-bound, so progress could be measured and defended over a multi-year timeline.
That backbone had to be human as much as technical: a shared playbook for Council, administration and public works with roles, and permissions, so that expectations on scope, cost, time and engagement were explicit and monitored. The plan also needed a credible risk posture proportionate to growth, water-quality variability and supply constraints, and an operations-ready plan appropriate facility classification, certified operators and practical monitoring so local teams could run the system with confidence and meet regional water quality expectations.
The mandate was clear: one Nation-led, workplan clarity of purpose and outcomes, a sequenced pathway, shared governance and operational readiness so leaders could secure support, align partners and deliver safe water on Secwépemc terms.
WHAT WE DID
Led a focused Project Management Essentials engagement to create a Nation-led planning framework for Skwlāx.
Developed a comprehensive Project Proposal that defined:
- The project's mandate, outcomes, and scope
- Decision-making authority and a realistic multi-year timeline
- Supporting plans and references captured for easy access
Organized the initiative into a sequenced plan with both summary and detailed deliverables breakdowns, giving leaders a clear view of the entire lifecycle, from:
- Feasibility and needs assessment
- Land use and site decisions
- Cultural protocol and community engagement
- Environmental and archaeological due diligence
- Design readiness and civil works
- Commissioning and tie-ins
Supported the plan with integrated communications, health & safety, and project management systems to ensure discipline and alignment
Built the human and governance systems to drive delivery:
- Conducted a stakeholder analysis clarifying roles (Chief & Council, administration, public works, advisors), timelines, and information needs.
- Established governance structures with decision gates and a proportional risk lens to reflect real-world constraints.
- Defined operational readiness by aligning facility classification, operator capacity, and monitoring expectations.
Mapped the entire framework to recognised process groups and performance domains, ensuring responsibilities, timelines, and quality standards were clear and consistent.
RESULTS WE GOT
Delivered a Nation-led planning framework anchored by a Project Proposal
outlining mandate, scope, authority, and a 2025–2030 implementation
timeline.
Produced summary and detailed breakdowns that translated strategic intent
into a clear, step-by-step path from feasibility to construction and
commissioning.
Elevated decision-readiness by:
Defined how progress would be measured and sustained by
IN NUMBERS
1 Unified Community Water Infrastructure Plan Defined
One governing plan linking mandate, scope and decision rights to a sequenced path from feasibility to commissioning
5-Year Delivery Timeline (2025-2030)
A time-bound frame to pace funding, design, construction and handover to operations
6 Project-Control Areas Formalised
Quality, cost, procurement, risk, schedule and communications, giving leadership a consistent line of sight as work advanced
