Seventeen days later, Slate Falls was back under a drinking water advisory.
Today, Slate Falls is under a new drinking water advisory that’s been in place since Aug. 29.
But Slate Falls isn’t the only First Nation to rescind its long-term advisory, only to have a new advisory issued within weeks or months.
In Slate Falls, the 14-year-old drinking water advisories were actually lifted on Feb. 5, 2018, a month before Philpott visited the community for the opening ceremony.
Indigenous Services said it has provided $325,000 to Sachigo Lake for water system maintenance, including the truck haul system.
Webequie First Nation, which had its long-term advisory lifted four days after Sachigo Lake’s, has also been under an advisory since October.
The First Nation has two reserves, each with its own water treatment plant.
Indigenous Services says that was caused by an equipment failure, but was extended because of “irregular water quality monitoring by the community.” But Chief David Masakeyash said there have been no major repairs to the older treatment plant for years, and some of the equipment is rusting.
“It just can’t go on like this.” Masakeyash said even brief power failures can cause problems, because if the plants are down for even a few hours, they can end up with an advisory in place for a couple of weeks while they test the water and wait for results.
And the government maintains it will lift all long-term advisories on reserves by March 2021.