Everyone is quietly hoping the big announcement for Clarksburg Saturday of almost $5 million in federal funding for sewers and water doesn't turn out to be a bit of a flash in the pan.

It is good news, of course. Clarksburg's evolution as a community is being stunted by the lack of proper sewer and water services. Not that the village is a cesspool, by any means. I spend a fair amount of time at the Marsh Street Centre and can attest that the water there is just fine.

The problem, as far as the authorities are concerned, is it doesn't go through a modern, state-of-the-art municipal filtering system. Ever since the Walkerton tragedy, public health officials have developed a nervous tic that shows up whenever they get anywhere near the sorts of communal and household well systems that have been part of rural communities for a very long time.

Our world, sadly, is getting too messed up with various pollutants for us to be able to continue to trust the old ways of serving up water.

Walkerton taught us that lesson. Some like to sniff and point out that it was a municipal system that let the contaminants through. They miss the crucial point, or points. 1) The source was a well that was contaminated during the spring run-off. 2) The system was operated by a couple of airheads. 3) The system in Walkerton was outdated for a growing community and a vital filter was missing.

Any of those things could still happen, but the province has made big strides toward heading them off. For one thing, the people who run water systems have to be reasonably bright -- at least bright enough to know that when warnings are issued about possible contamination they are supposed to take action, not just file the warning away.

But on to the topic at hand. The feds announced a few weeks ago they are going ahead with their own version of the old Canada Ontario Municipal Reinvestment Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF) even if the Ontario government doesn't join them.

The money announced by Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis Saturday is from that fund.

But there is a big catch to it. The federal money is conditional on the province coming through with an equal amount.

I'm not quite sure I get that.

First the feds puff up their chests and say  -- when the cameras and pens are whirring -- they're going ahead with the program whether or not the province signs on. A breath or two later they add, but you don't get the money if the province doesn't sign on.

So what exactly has Clarksgburg been given? A promise? Maybe we will, maybe we won't?

I can understand the Conservative feds wanting to push the Liberal provincials to do the right thing.

Don't get me wrong. I'm no big fan of the Harper Tories, but they get some good marks in my book for deciding to go ahead on this without Dalton McGuinty's blessing. Ontario's infrastructure has been left to crumble for most of the last quarter of the 20th century and the early years of this one.

That's why you're suddenly hearing that word, infrastructure, every time you see a politician from any level of government.

We need only look to the south to the way some states in the U.S. constantly neglect infrastructure to see what happens. The bridge collapse in Minnesota last summer was a good example.

Water and sewer systems are especially vital. Do I have to explain why? I thought not.

Worst of all, infrastructure problems don't go away, they just get worse. Roads and bridges crumble, old sewer and water pipes crack and leak, and so on. Let it go just a hair too far and you've got big problems. Life-threatening problems. The kind of problems that cause people to hold their breath every time they cross older bridges -- or hold their nose every time they open a faucet.

So our governments are playing catch-up. The province should be pouring every penny they can into this initiative and they should be putting aside petty politics and getting on with the job. If the feds are willing to put up $64 million for Ontario, the province should be doing all they can to match it.

Indeed, this project should have had Ontario's support long ago instead of being shuffled off behind various roads upgrades. COMRIF was supposed to put the highest priority on sewer and water projects.

That said,  the feds should stand behind their announcements. If they're giving out money and the province can't or won't take part, the feds should be willing to remove their condition. The Blue Mountains could find ways to go ahead with this project even without provincial funding.

Maybe that's not true in all communities, so it makes sense to ensure the money won't be wasted or languish in forgotten bank accounts with the funded projects not being completed. We can do it, though.

So give us the money, Helena and Stephen, and forget your squabble with Dalton.

The need for proper services in communities like Clarksburg is much more important than politics.