Who, Us? Do What?!!

"You can't have that. [No recent major repairs to older treatment plants; rusting equipment). It's just not right. I think something else has to be put in play. It just can't go on like this."
"Most of the stuff that are put into play are Band-Aid solutions. You just keep on going through the same cycle."
"And that goes on year after year after year after year."
Chief David Masakayash, Mishkeegogamang First Nation

Indigenous Services, in addressing a new water treatment plant at the Mishkeegogamang First Nation where recurring potable water advisories have been issued and then rescinded on its two remote reserves, each with its own water treatment plant, addresses the efficacy of the newer of the two plants where two short water advisories were issued in the past year, and the older plant had been under an advisory from May to December by pointing out that in one instance equipment failure was involved but at issue was "irregular water quality monitoring by the community".

Slate Falls First Nation, about 550 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont.. celebrated the opening of its new water treatment plant on March 7. (Brett Purdy / CBC)

The community in northwestern Ontario at Slate Falls was where a new water treatment plant was being inaugurated for the community. The federal government had pledged it would eliminate all long-term drinking-water advisories by March 2021 on First Nation reserves. Formerly the 200 residents of Slate Falls had, since 2004, been under a long-term boil-water advisory. Water was obtained from 11 separate pump houses, all of which had been under individual advisories.

Slate Falls First Nation has a population of about 300 and is about 550 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. (Google)

Indigenous services lifted all 11 advisories when the new plant was operational. "Today is a big day to make changes to our lifestyle and we are very excited to finally be able to drink water right from the tap", happily exulted Chief Lorraine Crane that day in March last year. It took all of 17 days for Slate Falls to return to a drinking-water advisory. It seems that Slate Falls' water operators failed to test the water in the weeks following the plant opening; little oversight to properly monitor the water resulted.

This recurring problem of fixes, new installations, lifting of water advisories, neglect in monitoring, and return to water advisories appears to plague many such First Nations communities. Reminiscent of First Nations' problems with fires on reserves taking the lives of children. Fire-fighting equipment including fire trucks when provided to the communities appear to have few within the community prepared to 'volunteer' to learn how to use the equipment. The response when fires erupt is predictably poor.

There is an estimated 19 First Nations that account for 32 of the 78 long-term water advisories lifted to date, which experience short-term advisories affecting part of their communities; an ongoing event following hard on long-term advisories, according to Indigenous Services. Such advisories have been issued in main for operational reasons: equipment malfunction, inadequate disinfection or system maintenance primarily, conditions which last a short time, but some that drag on for months.

Road in Neskantaga First Nation. (CBC News)

That old adage that the more you do for people, the less they will do for themselves, and resent the need to cooperate and participate in their own well-being since they assume they will always be looked after by outside sources has some resonance here. As far as First Nations leaders are concerned the reasons that drinking-water advisories pop up is "Band-Aid solutions" to plants that fail to operate smoothly. A lack of resources to ensure qualified water operators dedicate themselves to the matter at hand.

In Slate Falls the new plant built to serve up to 380 people came with a cost of $11.6 million, but it seems that no internal responsibility for maintenance and vigilance is being assumed. When Indigenous Services Canada was notified of a water main break in the distribution system it also was made aware that the community's water operators were not monitoring for bacteria since the plant opened irrespective of federal and provincial requirements that testing of E.coli and total coliform bacteria be undertaken weekly.

A memorandum was circulated highlighting "concerns related to water operator training", along with a lack of oversight. The tribal council operator was responsible for five communities and travelled to Slate Falls once a month. The environmental health officer was tasked to oversee 11 communities, visiting once every three months. Before the unexpected short-term drinking-water advisory was lifted the regional operator and the environmental health officer visited the community "to reinforce previous training".