Drinking Water Quality
Health Canada, in collaboration with Indian and Northern Affairs
Canada, assists First Nations in ensuring safe drinking water in
their communities, south of 60 degrees parallel.
For more than 50 years, Health Canada has provided environmental
health services to First Nations communities through its Environmental
Health Program.
As part of this program, the department monitors and provides
advice on drinking water quality to First Nations communities and
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Drinking Water Quality Monitoring
Drinking Water Advisories
Drinking Water Quality Monitoring
Who is responsible for
the management of water and wastewater in First Nations communities?
In First Nations communities located south of 60 degrees parallel
in Canada, responsibility for ensuring safe drinking water on reserves
is shared between First Nations communities and the Government
of Canada.
Chief and Council are responsible for planning and developing
their capital facilities which provide for the basic infrastructure
needs of the community, including drinking water. They are also
responsible for the day-to-day operation of water and wastewater
systems on reserves, including sampling and testing drinking water.
 Indian
and Northern Affairs Canada provides funding for water services
and infrastructures such as the construction, upgrading, operation
and maintenance of water treatment facilities on First Nation
reserves. The department also provides financial support for
the training and certification of operators.
Health Canada ensures that drinking water quality monitoring programs
are in place in First Nations communities south of 60 degrees parallel
in Canada. Health Canada has also collaborated with the provinces
and territories over the past 30 years to establish the Guidelines
for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.
Environment Canada develops standards, guidelines and/or protocols
for wastewater systems on federal and Aboriginal lands as defined
under the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and provides advice and
technical expertise on federal legislation requirements. In partnership
with Health Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs under the First
Nations Water Management Strategy. Environment Canada is developing
guidance materials aimed at enhancing the capacity of First Nations
to conduct their own source water assessments, undertake monitoring
of their source water, develop and implement source water protection
plans, and manage their water in a sustainable way.
Who is responsible for ensuring
safe drinking water in the territories?
The territorial governments are responsible for ensuring safe
drinking water in all communities in their territories, including
First Nations and Inuit communities.
Responsibility for drinking water quality monitoring and 'boil
water' advisories reside with the Territorial Governments and Indian
and Northern Affairs Canada. Environmental health and surveillance
programs were transferred when the federal government devolved
certain health services to the Government of the Northwest Territories
in 1988 and to the Yukon Territorial Government in 1997 and Nunavut
in 1999.
After the 1997 Yukon Territorial Government devolution Health
Canada continues to provide funding to the Yukon Territorial Government
to provide drinking water testing supplies to Yukon First Nations
communities.
Upon request, Health Canada, through the Healthy Environments
and Consumer Safety Branch, provides scientific support and expertise
to the territorial governments.
What is Health Canada doing to ensure
safe drinking water in First Nations communities?
Through the Drinking Water Safety Program, Health Canada works
in partnership with more than 700 First Nations communities south
of 60 degrees parallel in Canada to ensure drinking water is monitored
as per the Guidelines
for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.
In communities where it is difficult or impossible to test drinking
water samples for microbiological contamination on a regular basis
and (or) get microbiological water samples to a laboratory in a
timely manner, Health Canada through its Community-Based Water
Monitor program, helps First Nations communities establish drinking
water quality sampling and testing capabilities to verify the overall
quality of drinking water at tap.
Health Canada provides funds to Chief and Council to employ Community-based
Drinking Water Monitors in the community who can provide a final
check on the overall safety of the drinking water. Health Canada
trains these monitors to sample and test the drinking water for
potential bacteriological contamination.
If a community does not have a Community-based Drinking Water
Quality Monitor, an Environmental Health Officer (EHO), a Certified
Public Health Inspector employed by Health Canada or a First Nations
stakeholders, will sample and test drinking water quality, with
the community's permission.
Environmental Health Officers test drinking water quality for
chemical, physical, and radiological contaminants and maintain
quality assurance and quality control.
EHOs review and interpret drinking water quality tests and disseminate
the results to First Nation communities. In all situations, if
the drinking water quality is found to be unsatisfactory, the EHO
will immediately communicate the appropriate recommendation(s)
to Chief and Council for action such as, for example, issuing a
boil water advisory.
In First Nations communities where Environmental Health Programs
are transferred, the First Nations stakeholders are responsible
for drinking water quality monitoring.
What happens if drinking water quality
results in First Nations communities do not meet the Guidelines
for Canadian Drinking Water Quality?
If the Environmental Health Officer's review and interpretation
of drinking water quality results indicate that they are unsatisfactory,
the Environmental Health Officer immediately communicates recommendation(s)
(such as a "boil water" advisory) to the Chief and Council
for their action.
Health Canada assists First Nations with follow-up sampling and
investigation to help identify the source of the problem and provides
recommendation(s) on how to rectify it to Chief and Council and,
in some situations, to federal partners such as INAC. If an immediate
threat to the health and safety of the community is identified,
it is the First Nations Chief and Council's responsibility to take
necessary action to protect its residents.
How much is the Government of Canada investing
to ensure safe drinking water in First Nations communities?
In the 2003 Budget, $600 million over five years was announced
to support the implementation of the First
Nations Water Management Strategy developed by Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada and Health Canada, aimed at ensuring the safety
of water supplies in First Nations communities.
Of the $600 million, $116 million was allocated to Health Canada
to:
- Provide resources to monitor drinking water quality in distribution
systems with five or more connections as per the latest edition
of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality;
- Increase resources allocated to communities with water treatment
plants identified as being at high and medium risk;
- Build First Nations capacity;
- Increase quality assurance/quality control of drinking water
quality test results;
- Increase accountability for implementation and delivery of
the Drinking Water Safety Program;
- Increase ability to make timely and informed decisions; and
- Increase ability to detect potential drinking water quality
problems.
From 2001 to 2003, Health Canada invested $10 million to protect
and enhance drinking water quality on reserves. Prior to 2001,
Health Canada was investing $5 million annually in its Drinking
Water Safety Program for First Nations communities.
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