Long-term drinking water advisories
Drinking water advisories on Canada's First Nations communities / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In Canada, First Nations communities have been under long-term drinking water advisories (DWAs) for decades. A long-term drinking water advisory is an advisory that has been in place for over a year. From November 2015 through January 19, 2024, 144 DWAs were lifted. 28 are still in effect in 26 communities.[1]
The primary reasons DWAs are issued in First Nations communities are "disinfection (32%), equipment (30%), microbiological quality (18%), source water quality (6%), operation would compromise (8%), and turbidity (6%)", according to Health Canada, the Assembly of First Nations and the David Suzuki Foundation.[2]
These advisories occur "when a water system is not functioning well ... because of equipment malfunction and/or operational issues which prevent the system from treating water to the required quality".[3]
DWAs are put in place if a water line breaks, if there is equipment failure, or if there is "poor filtration or disinfection when water is treated."[4] A DWA may be issued if the community does not have "someone trained to run the water system", or "someone trained to test and ensure the quality of the drinking water."[4] There are three types of advisories—boil water, do not consume, and do not use.[4]