Long-term drinking water advisories

rdf:langString Long-term drinking water advisories

rdf:langString 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. 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. 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". 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." 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." There are three types of advisories—boil water, do not consume, and do not use. From November 2015 through September 20, 2021, 117 DWAs had been lifted and 45 were still in effect in 32 communities.