Alexander's water systems are safe for now, finds a national report, but they need about $807,000 in improvements if they are to stay that way.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada released its national assessment of First Nations water and wastewater systems last Thursday. The report examines water systems on 97 per cent of Canada's First Nations, including Alexander and is the government's most comprehensive look yet at on-reserve water.
The report finds that about 39 per cent of on-reserve drinking water systems were at "high risk" of having safety problems. The federal government would need to invest about $1.2 billion to bring First Nations water systems up to code and about $4.7 billion to keep them there for the next 10 years.
There's been a substantial amount of time and money invested into First Nations' drinking water in recent years, says Steve Hrudey, an analytical toxicologist at the University of Alberta and one of Canada's foremost authorities on waterborne diseases and drinking water, and he's surprised by the apparent lack of progress. "It looks like things are sliding backwards rather than forwards."
Operational problems
The report looks at water and wastewater systems on 571 First Nations audited during 2009 and 2010.
It found that about 314 of the 807 drinking water systems it examined were considered high-risk based on a combination of source, design, operator, reporting and operational factors. Just 25 per cent of the on-reserve population was serviced by these high-risk systems, about half of which were in B.C.
Because of the way the report's ranking system works, high-risk does not necessarily mean unsafe drinking water — a reserve might have perfectly clean water but get a high rating due to poor record keeping.
Alexander's water system ranked a 5.9 on the report's 10-point scale, which qualifies as "medium" risk. Alexander gets bulk water from Epcor in Edmonton but runs its own distribution system.
The band's water is safe to drink, says Gail Mitchell, spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, but auditors found problems with the band's operators and record keeping. "For 75 per cent of what [records] should be kept, they could not find evidence that they had been kept."
The band had a partially certified operator, she continues, but did not have a backup. "If things go wrong, you may be at greater risk of having problems with water quality."
Alexander officials could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.
Cash solution?
Alexander will need about $807,000 in investment to bring its water systems up to federal code and to keep them there for the next decade, the report found.
Writing a cheque for capital investment won't solve the water problem on reserves, says Hrudey, who sat on a 2006 federal panel on the subject. "It's a people issue," he says. "You have to invest in and support the people who are running the system."
On-reserve water systems tend to be very small and remote, Hrudey says, which makes it tough for bands to hold onto qualified operators. (Small communities have similar problems, he adds.) The report suggests greater support of the circuit-rider program — where water quality experts train people in remote areas — as one solution.
The federal government has invested millions to improve on-reserve water systems, says Brian Storseth, member of Parliament for Westlock-St. Paul, and supports formal and informal training programs for operators. "Some of our First Nations communities have to step up and be part of the solution," he adds. "There has to be 100 per cent engagement on all sides on this."
The federal government will invest in 15 on-reserve water systems this year, according to an Aboriginal Affairs press release, and 57 others by 2016.
The report is available at http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/enr/wtr/nawws/index-eng.asp.
