A local Indigenous leader says the federal government’s focus on access to clean drinking water may be neglecting Indigenous reserves in less dire situations.
Joel Abram, grand chief of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, said that reserves with water treatment systems still need to reach provincial standards, despite a federal promise to focus on ending boil-water advisories.
"While we understand it’s important to address those situations, its left a lot of other people in the dark as to where they stand in terms of drinking water facilities not meeting standards or capacity issues," he said.
Abram was in Ottawa this week to speak with government leaders about the issue.
"Although we need to look at the worst of the worst, we also need to ensure that those [reserves] that do have water treatment facilities meet the regulations," he said.
Officials of the Ontario Clean Water Agency said the treatment facility at Oneida Nation of the Thames did not meet provincial standards, said Abram.
The inspection also found that the filtration system is at capacity, which can limit the amount of new infrastructure and houses that can built on the reserve.
Minister of Indigenous Services Jane Philpott and members of her department assured Abram that they were moving as quickly as they could.

A local Indigenous leader says the federal government’s focus on access to clean drinking water may be neglecting Indigenous reserves in less dire situations. Joel Abram, grand chief of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, said that reserves with water treatment systems still need to reach provincial standards, despite a federal promise to focus on ending boil-water advisories. “While we understand it’s important to address those situations, its left a…

Aa Aa The European Commission has unveiled a proposal to improve access to drinking water across the EU.
The aim is to improve health, reduce emissions and tackle plastic waste.
EU Commissioners Frans Timmermans and Karmenu Vella unveiled the proposal.
It forms part of the European pillar of Social Rights and is a direct response to the "Right2Water" citizens initiative, which was signed by 1.6 million people.
The World Health Authority has provided information on water quality.
Environment Commissioner Vella says this is an area which rarely requires intervention, as member states implement the regulations properly as a general rule.
It is also a result of the ongoing Better Regulation drive, overseen by Timmermans, which aims to streamline EU legislation and cut red tape.
Timmermans’ quest to reduce bureaucracy is also evident in new rules that allow authorities to focus on treating substances that are known to be in the local area, rather than having to go through a long list of generic substances that are not present.
23 million – the number of EU citizens who are not connected to a water system.
1.6 million – the number of EU citizens who signed the first "European Citizen Initiative" in 2013 which aimed to make access to clean water a "human right" 18 – the number of regulations the Commission wants to introduce to protect water supplies against bacteria and contamination.

Aa Aa The European Commission has unveiled a proposal to improve access to drinking water across the EU. The aim is to improve health, reduce emissions and tackle plastic waste. EU Commissioners Frans Timmermans and Karmenu Vella unveiled the proposal. It forms part of the European pillar of Social Rights and is a direct response to the “Right2Water” citizens initiative, which was signed by 1.6 million people. The World Health Authority has provided information on water…

Ensuring all citizens have access to safe drinking water has been a priority for the EU for decades.
It’s crucial for public health and wellbeing, and shortages or contamination can lead to serious social, health and economic problems.
The EU believes that high quality drinking water should be guaranteed for all consumers, which is why it’s one of the main principles included in the European Pillar of Social Rights.
In light of this, the commission has announced its plans to revise legislation to improve the Drinking Water Directive.
Thanks to current legislation, the majority of EU citizens already have very good access to high quality drinking water.
We have heard and heeded their call and carried out a thorough analysis of our existing legislation.
Today we are therefore proposing to modernise our EU law, improving the quality of drinking water and increasing the access of citizens where it matters most.
Ensuring a high level of health protection is crucial, and the EU strives towards making sure that water quality is controlled and monitored based on the latest scientific evidence.
Among the changes are rules that will require all member states to improve access for all their citizens, and especially for vulnerable and marginalized groups in society, who currently have more limited access than the general population.
It’s been predicted that these measures would reduce the potential health risks associated with drinking water from 4% to less than 1%.

Ensuring all citizens have access to safe drinking water has been a priority for the EU for decades. It’s crucial for public health and wellbeing, and shortages or contamination can lead to serious social, health and economic problems. The EU believes that high quality drinking water should be guaranteed for all consumers, which is why it’s one of the main principles included in the European Pillar of Social Rights. It’s strongly agreed that all consumers should have access to both safe water and reliable information about its supply. In light of this, the commission has announced its plans to revise legislation to improve the Drinking Water Directive. To support this cause, the European Citizens’ Initiative have gather over 1.6 million signatures as part of the “Right2Water” campaign, which was introduced to improve access for all Europeans. Thanks to current legislation, the majority of EU citizens already have very good access to high quality drinking water. The last 30 years…

Without action on behalf of the citizens of Cape Town to drastically reduce water consumption, April 21 will mark what is now being called “Day Zero.” On Day Zero, Cape Town officials will shut off running water to houses, and will instead ration water from approximately 200 access points around the city.
Cape Town citizens are currently using an average of 87 litres of water per day, an unsustainable rate of consumption due to the fact that the city has experienced unprecedented droughts for the last two years, and water reserve levels are hovering at about a quarter of their capacity.
If Cape Town reaches Day Zero, rations will be further limited to 25 litres a day.
Which in total amounts to a 90-second shower, a large bottle of drinking water, and weekly laundry cleaning, if that.
This may sound like the plot of a dystopian science fiction film, but these situations are likely only going to become more common throughout the world.
For years, some Indigenous communities have gone without access to running and potable water, creating similar crises that have gone relatively unnoticed.
A prime example of this is the community of Shoal Lake, Ontario, whose residents haven’t been able to drink from the community’s water supply since 1998.
That’s 20 years without potable water.
“We have people in our community that are very vulnerable to sickness because we don’t have access to clean drinking water.” In contrast to communities like Shoal Lake that are forced to live on rationed water reserves, or collect their water from resources sometimes miles from their homes, Canadians used an average of 251 litres of water per day in 2011, according to an article in the Globe and Mail.
While Canada’s fresh water reserves can currently withstand this level of consumption, climate change will likely only exacerbate water shortages around the world, including in Canada.

A scary reminder of the effects of global warming Cape Town, South Africa, may be one of the first industrialized cities in the world to begin rationing fresh water due to extremely low reserves. Without action on behalf of the citizens of Cape Town to drastically reduce water consumption, April 21 will mark what is now being called “Day Zero.” On Day Zero, Cape Town officials will shut off running water to houses, and will instead ration water from approximately 200 access points around the city. Cape Town citizens are currently using an average of 87 litres of water per day, an unsustainable rate of consumption due to the fact that the city has experienced unprecedented droughts for the last two years, and water reserve levels are hovering at about a quarter of their capacity. The mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, has urged citizens to limit their consumption to approximately 50 litres a day. If Cape Town reaches Day Zero, rations will be further limited to 25 litres a day. Which in total amounts to a 90-second shower, a large bottle of drinking water, and weekly laundry cleaning, if that. The city has resorted to consulting with law enforcement and…

Gov.
Rick Snyder pitched a plan Thursday to raise $110 million per year to fix Michigan’s busted and rusted water and sewer systems — and to replace lead service lines in the wake of Flint’s water crisis.
The funding source: Michigan ratepayers.
Snyder, a Republican, proposed phasing in a state fee on users of public water systems that serve 1,000 or more people.
The fee would start at $1 and increase by another $1 per year until capping at $5 per year in 2024.
Meanwhile, Snyder is pushing a separate proposal that would require some water utilities to replace all of their lead drinking water service lines lines over 20 years.
Much of the money raised under Snyder’s proposal would go to local grants for lead line replacements.
Though Flint is now internationally associated with Michigan’s failing water infrastructure, it’s far from the only example.
In a press release, Snyder’s office called the added fees “affordable.” The plan requires legislative approval.
On Thursday, Snyder’s office said 80 percent of the extra money from extra water system fees would fund projects in the region that collected it.

Gov. Rick Snyder pitched a plan Thursday to raise $110 million per year to fix Michigan’s busted and rusted water and sewer systems — and to replace lead service lines in the wake of Flint’s water crisis. The funding source: Michigan ratepayers. Snyder, a Republican, proposed phasing in a state fee on users of public water systems that serve 1,000 or more people. The fee would start at $1 and increase by another $1 per year until capping at $5 per year in 2024. “Critical updates are necessary to rebuild our state’s failing water infrastructure,” Snyder said in a statement. “Investing in our state’s water infrastructure needs is essential to ensure every Michigander has access to safe drinking water, protect our environment and continue our state’s outstanding economic growth.” In 2016, a commission assembled by Snyder concluded Michigan was short $800 million per year to meet water and sewer system needs…