E. coli

Canada’s First Nations Start Filing Claims for Historic Water Settlement

Canada’s First Nations Start Filing Claims for Historic Water Settlement

This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here. For years, First Nations in Canada have been denied access to clean drinking water. Many Indigenous communities have to deal with brown, sludgy water and the destructive health impacts it brought. Some have spent years relying on boiled or bottled water. As of March 8, 2022, there were 23 short-term drinking water advisories in place across the country, that range from boil water advisories to Do Not Consume notices. Now, the Canadian government will have to pay for it.

Canada to compensate First Nations for decades of dirty water

Canada to compensate First Nations for decades of dirty water

It’s Tuesday, January 5, and Canada is spending billions on clean drinking water for First Nations communities. Tens of thousands of Indigenous people in Canada have spent decades without reliable access to clean drinking water. Now, the Canadian government has plans to put it right. A court-approved settlement released late last month commits Canada to spending more than $4 billion on improvements to drinking water infrastructure at hundreds of Indigenous reserves throughout the country. Another $1.18 billion will be provided in damages to some 140,000 First Nations people who have lived under drinking water advisories for longer than a year, often under orders to boil water to avoid potential contamination from bacteria like E. coli.

Is your well doing well? Water well, that is.

Is your well doing well? Water well, that is.

With many residents of Woodlands County utilizing well water, the municipality hosted a virtual workshop on October 21 on managing wells. The event streamed live and enabled attendees to ask questions in real-time. Multiple specialists were on hand, including Jeff Hammer, a Public Health Inspector for Alberta Health Services. Hammer discussed the importance of testing water and why it’s essential to do so. “We have two types of tests available at the health units. One is a bacteriological bottle which we test for total Coliform and E. coli. Total Coliform is an indicator of bacteria, and E. coli is basically fecal matter which you never want to see. The other type of test we have is a chemical water sample. It does a bunch of minerals and metals and has some more health parameters associated with it.” Hammer said that some of the minerals and metals tested for include manganese, lead, arsenic, and the pH value of the water.

Sweet water

Sweet water

‘Water sustains us, flows between us, within us, and replenishes us. Water is the giver of all life, and, without clean water, all life will perish.’—Assembly of First Nations “No human being, no animal or plant, can live without its water,” says Dawn Martin-Hill, co-founder of the Indigenous Studies program at Hamilton’s McMaster University. For centuries, the Unist’ot’en people have called Wet’suwet’en territory in British Columbia home. Their way of life is such that they can drink straight from the pristine Morice River (Wedzin Kwah) that flows through their land. Last year, construction began on the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, posing a direct threat to the Morice. “We call it sweet water,” said Martin-Hill. “We had that everywhere. We had it here in Ontario.” “You know it when you’re drinking it. I’d rather have sweet water over running water.”

Members of Neskantaga come home today to boil water advisory

Members of Neskantaga come home today to boil water advisory

Another factor in the chief's decision is the fact that the plant still isn't running at capacity. It's designed to produce 3.8 litres of water per second for each of its two treatment lines, but the most it can produce now is less than three litres, according to project progress reports obtained by CBC News. "The amount would still meet the [community's] need," said Lalita Bharadwaj, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan who studies access to safe drinking water in First Nations. "But it raises concerns about the sustainability of the system, and operations and management of the system." Bharadwaj said there should be four operators working at the plant — two who are certified and two others from the local community who can receive training, which she said could take years.

Oneida Nation of the Thames tap water different than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities

Oneida Nation of the Thames tap water different than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities

ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES — Jennifer George’s home sits on a gravel road that separates this Indigenous community near London, Ont., from the neighbouring township of Southwold. On George’s side of the road, virtually no one trusts the drinking water that flows from the Thames River to their homes. Many have the same 18-litre blue jugs that line the floor of George’s kitchen, ubiquitous sources of water for drinking and cooking.

In 2000, Walkerton’s poisoned water ruined his life. He decided it was time to end it

In 2000, Walkerton’s poisoned water ruined his life. He decided it was time to end it

His legs had wasted away. Numbness in his fingers made it impossible for him to write or button a shirt; he opened bottles of painkillers with his mouth. He was losing sight in his right eye; the hearing in one ear was already gone. He’d leave his home only every two weeks, strapped on a gurney to be transported to the Queensway Health Centre for an intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. He went for the last time in late April.

Alberta First Nations still lack consistent access to clean water

Alberta First Nations still lack consistent access to clean water

Dozens of boil water advisories have been issued in Alberta First Nations communities, one after E. coli was detected at a daycare, others after mice were found in water tanks. 

In all, Health Canada has issued 56 drinking water advisories affecting First Nations communities in Alberta since April 2015 — more than the 52 orders Alberta Health Services made for the rest of the province over the same time period.