Flood-impacted Manitobans with private wells and cisterns can test their water supply for free, as the province pushes to waive off fees temporarily. The move will subsidize costs related to water testing. In an announcement on May 8, the province said the push aims to lift some of the financial burdens caused by flooding. It comes into effect Monday and ends on Aug. 31.
Lack of funding for piped water on First Nations in Sask. means some on reserves can’t drink from their taps
Rebecca Zagozewski, executive director with the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association, says cisterns can pose health risks to those who rely on them. She says the structures can have cracked lids, which allows all sorts of debris to get into them — including rats, mice, drowned puppies and garbage — and they’re often not cleaned properly. On top of that, she says the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association is concerned that there is no certification program for water truck drivers. The group wants to create such a program where drivers would have to be trained in how to keep the water safe and be held accountable if things go wrong. “Because right now there’s no accountability,” she says.
Water crisis in First Nations communities runs deeper than long-term drinking water advisories
In October, more than 250 members of the Neskantaga First Nation were evacuated to Thunder Bay after an oily sheen was found on their reservoir. The discovery left the community, located in northern Ontario, without access to running water. The evacuation drew attention to the federal government’s 2015 commitment to end all on reserve long-term drinking water advisories (in place for more than one year) by March 31, 2021. Neskantaga has been living under a boil-water advisory for 26 years.
Measures to stop spread of COVID-19 in First Nations limited by lack of infrastructure: report
Suggested measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 won't be effective in remote Manitoba First Nations unless housing conditions and access to clean water are improved, says a new report. "Asking people to wash their hands and isolate in overcrowded homes without running water is like asking people unable to afford bread to eat cake," reads the report, released Wednesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).