Meantime, the city turned to the Flint River as its source.
It took a few years before the people of Flint could once again count on that.
For the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, which straddles the Manitoba-Ontario boundary, it’s been 20 years.
That is our national shame.
While some headway has been made, there are still too many Indigenous communities that can’t tap into the same safe resources that the rest of us can.
Right now, 62 long-term advisories (ones in place for more than a year) remain outstanding.
There are long-term, structural problems with the water treatment systems in many Indigenous communities that have not been addressed.
It’s more difficult to rely on as a reason when you’re talking about communities that haven’t had access to safe drinking water for 25 years.
And while that situation is particularly absurd, there are many Indigenous people that haven’t had good, reliable water to consume for several years.
Which leads to the question: How much does racism play in our water crisis in Canada?

Customers are also encouraged to ensure their contact information is accurate to receive important water service information should weather impact water service.
According to Mike Smyth, vice president of operations, Illinois American Water has invested in water main replacements across the state to decrease main breaks, but weather can still be a factor.
This is why it’s so important we can reach our customers should a water emergency occur.” During water service emergencies, Illinois American Water contacts customers either through in-person notification, door hanger or a customer notification system called CodeRED.
Customers who do not have Internet access can contact the customer service center at 800-422-2782 to update their contact information.
They will receive Illinois American Water alerts and public safety information sent by local organizations using CodeRED.
If pipes freeze customers should: Shut off the water immediately and not attempt to thaw frozen pipes unless the water is shut off.
He says, “By simply running a thin stream of water, especially overnight when temperatures drop significantly, and taking other precautions, customers can help prevent frozen pipes and meters.
This prevents unnecessary no water calls which require our team to visit a premise.” In addition, the Company is taking steps to limit cold weather exposure.
Smyth says, “There is nothing more important to Illinois American Water than ensuring our team is safe, therefore we are conducting emergency work only at this time and doing all we can to keep our colleagues inside.
About Illinois American Water – Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people.

For the first time since the city’s boil water notice was put into effect, Prince Rupert residents had a chance to formally address council and voice their opinions on the issue at the city’s committee of the whole meeting on Jan. 28.
READ MORE: City of Prince Rupert cleared to end boil water notice Kertes said that access to clean drinking water is a basic human right and that there are those in the community — the elderly, infants, poor and those with compromised immune systems — who did not have access to it during the boil water notice.
Those targets included: creating a plan to make sure water is made available to those who need it; putting that plan into place and having transparent, accurate and timely information updated regularly on the city’s website; and an independent assessment of the city’s process by an expert on water quality and accessibility.
“Through no fault of the city, it’s just when your water doesn’t come out clean, trust is eroded and I think building that trust should be a priority.” After Kertes’s presentation, councillors Nick Adey and Barry Cunningham made brief remarks.
Cunningham agreed with Adey’s comments, adding that the city had learned lessons over the past six weeks.
Later in the meeting David McKeever commended city staff, thanking them for the work they had done to resolve the boil water notice.
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Agogo (Ash), Jan 28, GNA – The Sekyere East Cluster of the World Vision International – Ghana (WVI-G) has handed over water and sanitation facilities to some communities in the Asante Akim North District of the Ashanti Region.
The facilities are to provide easy access to safe drinking water while improving hygiene and sanitation in vulnerable rural communities in the District.
The beneficiary communities are Adinkrakrom, Bretuofrom, Abrewapong, Hwidiem, Kowireso and Bebome, which were provided with eight-seater disability-friendly Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pits (KVIP) each, with urinals, water harvesting systemsm, and changing room for girls.
Bebome, Abrewapong and Ananekrom were also provided with mechanised boreholes.
Mrs Georgina Harriet Nyamekeh, the Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) Officer of the Sekyere East Cluster, at the ceremony at Agogo, said the objective was to enhance hygienic practices and improve access to safe drinking water in the communities.
Mr Joseph Kwogyenga, the Cluster Manager, said it was part of WVI-G’s mandate, as an international Christian NGO, to improve the lives of all children, especially the most vulnerable within families and communities.
He said the NGO was also mandated to aid the communities to access improved and quality water as well as ensure a healthy environment through various interventions.
Reverend Prince Bennett Ameyaw Bediakoh, the General Secretary of the Local Council of Churches of Agogo, commended WVI-Ghana for the continuous and enormous support to the people, which had helped improve their wellbeing.
He called on community members to cooperate to ensure proper maintenance of the facilities to prolong their lifespan.
Mr Godsway Dzahini, the Integrated Development Facilitator of WVI-Ghana for the Asante Akim North District, said sustainability plans had been designed in consultation with the respective communities to ensure proper usage and prolonged lifespan of the facilities.

KAMPALA – Uganda has been selected to host next year’s 20th African Water Association (AFWA) Congress, which is aimed at promoting the productivity of the water sector in Africa through benchmarking and knowledge sharing.
It has more than 200 members across the world.
The congress will be held next year February 24 to 27 in Kampala.
Under the theme dubbed breaking new grounds to accelerate access to water and sanitation for all in Africa.
Speaking at the launch of the Congress in Kampala on Friday, the Managing Director National Water and sewage Cooperation(NWSC), Eng Dr Silver Mugisha, said that the Congress is expected to attract over 2,500 delegates cross Africa.
“The Congress will bring together a diverse range of practitioners, scientists, development partners and industry representative, working across different areas of water and sanitation sector across the world,” said Dr Mugisha He added that during the congress, they will identify the breakthrough both in research and good practices in addressing water and sanitation challenges in Africa “The Congress will increase the visibility of Uganda and promoting tourism potential and bring a diversity of economic implication to the country,” He said.
Mr Muhamood Lutaaya, the regional manager NWSC, revealed that during the 20th congress, AFWA will also celebrate 40 years of existence and launch the first ever African water and sanitation academy.
“There will be every excellent exhibition to bring research and practice together in a way to come up with solution and innovation to address the water and sanitation challenges that Africa is facing,” He said Mr Lutaaya added that they expect to bring on board a number of academicians to see how they can translate research into practice, researchers will be able to share with us some of their breakthroughs as far as research is concerned.
The AFWA congress 2020 will be organised by the NWSC on behalf of the government of Uganda in association with local partners and the AFWA executive office.
AFWA congresses are held every after two years, Uganda hosted the 2010 Congress, followed by Morocco in 2012, Kenya 2014 and lastly was in Mali in 2018.

This year, the challenges will continue in full force, according to an annual report from UNOCHA, the U.N. humanitarian agency, called World Humanitarian Data and Trends 2018.
That’s because the root causes are increasingly a messy mix of conflict, climate shocks, poverty and social inequalities.
Humanitarian resources must be stretched even further for more and longer-lasting crises.
More than 80 percent of the funding required that year was for just eight "mega-crises," as the report calls them, that have lasted five years or more, in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Traditional disaster response isn’t cut out for long crises.
The report calls for increased coordination and cooperation between humanitarian and development agencies.
In many cases, people lost their supply of water.
And in some conflicts, cutting off access to water was used as a weapon.
For example, the report found that in Yemen there were 28 conflict events in 2017 in which water set off fighting or was a casualty of hostilities.
Internal displacement is notoriously under-reported, leaving many without the aid they need.

A study showing a link between nitrate levels in drinking water and rates of bowel cancer should concern people living in areas of New Zealand where nitrates are high, write Mike Joy and Michael Baker.
Last year, a Danish study reported a link between nitrate in drinking water and the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer.
This finding could have important implications for New Zealanders.
Recent data show also that drinking water supplies in some parts of New Zealand have nitrate levels more than three times higher than the threshold level for colorectal cancer risk identified in the Danish study.
This study and other research raise an important question about the contribution nitrate exposure through drinking water may be making to New Zealand’s high rates of bowel cancer.
It included 2.7 million people over 23 years and monitored their individual nitrate exposure levels and colorectal cancer rates.
The research found a statistically significant increase in colorectal cancer risk at 0.87ppm (parts per million) of nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water.
One key implication is that the current nitrate standard for drinking water used in most countries, including New Zealand, is probably too high.
The findings are consistent with data from the regional council Environment Canterbury.
In conclusion, surface water in many parts of New Zealand is highly contaminated with nitrates as a result of intensified farming.

(CNN)Two lawsuits have been filed on behalf of residents of Denmark, South Carolina, where a CNN investigation revealed that a chemical was being added to the water supply for 10 years without EPA approval.
One of the lawsuits seeks to have water bills reimbursed for that time period and alleges that the local government had no right to make people pay for water that was not potable.
Both suits are class-action complaints, meaning they potentially represent all of the nearly 3,000 residents of Denmark.
Bakari Sellers is an attorney who filed one of the suits on behalf of residents.
The suit filed on behalf of three named Denmark residents, representing the class, alleges that "Plaintiffs were damaged by Defendant’s conduct as Plaintiffs purchased and consumed water that included a chemical that was not approved by the EPA and was not determined to be safe to people or the environment."
The mayor of Denmark, Gerald Wright, told CNN that he did not have a statement at this time regarding the two lawsuits.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Environmental Control told CNN it would be inappropriate to comment on pending litigation but previously told CNN that it believed HaloSan was safe for drinking water based on the way its manufacturer "advertised" the chemical.
"The Berry Systems HaloSan treatment unit had been advertised as an effective treatment in the control of iron bacteria and was certified," said Tommy Crosby, director of media relations for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Residents like Paula Brown and Eugene Smith have been collecting water samples for years, suspicious of the quality.
The second lawsuit, brought by attorney John Harrell, was filed against the City of Denmark, along with Denmark’s Public Water System.

Water scarcity affects over 40 percent of the world and, with climate change, the situation could worsen.
Its per capita water availability of 600 cubic metres is below the global threshold of 1,000m³ and unpredictable due to climate change and increasing demands at household and farm levels.
Sustainable Development Goal Number Six (SDG 6) is aimed at ensuring that everybody has access to safe and affordable drinking water — an essential commodity for human survival.
Water scarcity affects over 40 percent of the world and, with climate change, the situation could worsen.
Kenya is a water-scarce country.
In 2017, the government, in partnership with development actors and the business community, launched the Kenya Chapter of Billion Dollar Alliance for Water Harvesting, designed to scale up farm pond technology to increase water harvesting in the arid and semi-arid areas.
In the urban areas, rainfall is seen as a curse due to its resultant effects of massive traffic congestion, accidents and flooding.
In these areas rainwater harvesting is a non-priority.
According to the 2009 census, only 0.8 percent of urban residents practise water harvesting, whereas in the rural areas it is seen as a big blessing.
Despite low excavation costs, other expenses for retaining the water and ensuring good quality make the farm pond unavoidable to certain community segments, hence the need for government and NGO intervention in the entire water harvesting chain.

Tony Evers pledged to clean up Wisconsin’s drinking water in his State of the State address, promising to work to replace lead pipes across the state and improve well water quality during what he dubbed the year of clean drinking water.
Meanwhile, at least 176,000 Wisconsin homes and businesses get water through lead service lines.
The state Department of Natural Resources adopted contentious restrictions on manure spreading in 15 eastern Wisconsin counties, including Kewaunee, last year.
Rob Cowles last year that allows public utilities to provide grants and loans to customers to replace lead pipes.
The new Democratic governor called 2019 the year of clean drinking water in his State of the State speech Tuesday .
Novak said he was glad Evers mentioned water pollution in his speech but he doesn’t know what to expect since Evers was short on specifics.
He said Vos’ task force will watch what the governor does.
Cowles said in an email that he was happy Evers and Vos want to work on cleaning up drinking water.
Wisconsin has never had a governor that made removing lead pipes a priority, she said.
Clean Wisconsin lobbyist Amber Meyer Smith said her group is excited to see Evers emphasize lead pipes and hopes that declaration will focus attention on all water pollution problems.