The Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services, today congratulated Slate Falls Nation on the successful completion of a new water treatment plant and the ending of 11 drinking water advisories in place for almost 14 years.
The Government of Canada remains steadfast in its commitment to ending all long-term drinking water advisories on public water systems on reserve by March 2021.
Indigenous Services Canada is working with First Nation communities to improve water and wastewater infrastructure and ensure proper operation and maintenance.
Quotes "Today I offer my congratulations to Chief Crane and the entire community of Slate Falls Nation.
Since 2004, long-term drinking water advisories have limited residents’ access to safe, clean drinking water, and I am absolutely thrilled to see the completion of this new water system and the lifting of eleven long-term advisories.
Today’s announcement marks a significant step forward in our government’s commitment to ending all long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserve by March 2021.
I look forward to visiting the community in the near future to celebrate this momentous occasion."
On January 23, 2018, Minister Philpott announced the Government is expanding its efforts to end long-term drinking water advisories by addressing an additional 24 long-term drinking water advisories on systems that had not previously received federal support.
Since November 2015, 52 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted on public water systems financially supported by the Government of Canada, bringing the total number of long-term drinking water advisories in effect on public drinking water systems on reserve to 81.
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Sometimes they get no water.
I don’t even feel safe bathing in it."
But experts say it is unlikely the federal government will invest in rebuilding the kind of infrastructure that has become a public health hazard in impoverished, out-of-the-way communities like Martin County.
The issue is, who’s going to pay for it?"
As residents in this sparsely populated pocket of Appalachia struggled — some boiling rainwater to bathe and melting snow to flush toilets — local schools canceled classes for three days and volunteers fanned out to deliver bottled water to the sick and elderly.
Local officials have sought to reassure residents the water is drinkable and that discoloration is not necessarily a sign it is unsafe: cloudiness, for example, can occur when air becomes trapped in water, and does not typically affect water safety.
State officials, however, say the county has a long way to go, especially with its finances.
At a hearing last month for the district’s request for an emergency rate increase, Michael Schmitt, chairman of Kentucky’s Public Service Commission, described Martin County as "by far the worst water district" in the state.
Back then, residents complained of skin rashes, nausea, and headaches, which they suspected were caused by contaminated water, but the county’s water district reported that its water intake on the Tug Fork River was closed for maintenance before the disaster.
A Department of Health and Human Services report concluded the water district did not take any slurry materials into the water treatment system and the county’s drinking water was not contaminated by the spill.

KOLKATA: As many as 650 people in six municipal wards were suffering from diarrhoea caused by an alleged contamination of drinking water and 28 of them were admitted in a city hospital since Saturday night, an official said on Sunday.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation collected samples from different places to detect the cause of the outbreak.
"Overall about 650 people reported suffering from symptoms of diarrhoea and affected were from wards 101, 102, 107, 108, 109 and 110.
Our Water Supply Department personnel collected samples from water treatment plants from where water is supplied to these areas for testing," a KMC official said.
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee said about 28 people suffering from diarrhoea were admitted to Baghajatin State General Hospital since last night and number of admission has not been increased.
The Mayor, who visited the affected wards on Sunday morning, said that around 260-270 people were brought to the Baghajatin hospital.
Dismissing complaints that contamination of drinking water led to the outbreak of the disease in the areas, Chatterjee said: "We have collected samples from 82 places so far to understand the cause of outbreak.
It is also found that all in a family drinking the same water were not ill.
The problem has been arrested in a greater extent."
"We are, however, conducting a complete check of the distribution system," he added.

Blades – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) began providing bottled water Friday for drinking and cooking to residents of the Town of Blades in Sussex County, according to DNREC spokesman Michael Globetti.
Bottled water was to be delivered Friday morning to the Blades Elementary School and four daycare centers in the area, and also was being provided by noon Friday to all Blades residents via delivery at the Blades Fire Hall.
All other schools will open as usual.
Water will be supplied to the Town of Blades by DNREC and DPH out of an abundance of caution until additional work can determine the extent of PFC contamination in the municipal wells.
Though PFCs are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, DPH is working with DNREC to minimize any potential health impacts to the community.
Long-term exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) can affect pregnant women and infants and cause cancer and liver and immune system impacts.
While much research has been conducted on laboratory animals, the accompanying research related to humans is more limited.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) on Friday morning started to provide bottled water for drinking and cooking to residents of Blades.
Water will be supplied to the Town of Blades by DNREC, DPH, and the Delaware National Guard to ensure residents have access to potable water.
Pike Creek – Crews from the Hockessin Fire Company, along with crews from the Mill Creek Fire Company, Delaware State Police and area Fir Police have responded to Limestone Road and Paper Mill Road for…

Cape Town faces the unenviable situation of being the first major city in the modern era to run out of drinking water.
São Paulo Brazil’s financial capital and one of the 10 most populated cities in the world went through a similar ordeal to Cape Town in 2015, when the main reservoir fell below 4% capacity.
China is home to almost 20% of the world’s population but has only 7% of the world’s fresh water.
Official figures from 2015 showed that 40% of Beijing’s surface water was polluted to the point of not being useful even for agriculture or industrial use.
The UN estimates critical shortages in the country by 2025.
Jakarta Like many coastal cities, the Indonesian capital faces the threat of rising sea levels.
As a consequence, about 40% of Jakarta now lies below sea level, according to World Bank estimates.
Moscow One-quarter of the world’s fresh water reserves are in Russia, but the country is plagued by pollution problems caused by the industrial legacy of the Soviet era.
According to the Greater London Authority, the city is pushing close to capacity and is likely to have supply problems by 2025 and "serious shortages" by 2040.
Rainfall, however, is concentrated during just four months of the year.

New Zealand researchers are calling for more drinking water fountains in public playgrounds and parks, to provide healthy options in contrast to sugary drinks and also to cater for an increased risk of heat waves.
There are just 34 public drinking fountains across Tauranga City and 14 in the Western Bay of Plenty district.
Most of them are located in high traffic areas and reserves where people are active.
Eight of the council areas had no fountains at all in any of the playgrounds sampled.
The researchers also found the fountain quality varied greatly, with discolouration of the metal surround and one with grass growing out of the drainage sink.
One of the study authors, Professor Nick Wilson, says in an era of climate change with increased risk of heat waves, drinking water in public places will be an increasingly important civic investment.
“Ideally, government should consider regulations that require at least one drinking water fountain in all New Zealand playgrounds and parks,” says Nick, “especially those with sports fields.” The study authors say that good access to drinking water in outdoor public places is also becoming recognised internationally as a health issue, due to the need to provide healthy options in contrast to sugary drinks, which contribute to obesity and rotten teeth.
Mark Smith, manager of parks and recreation for Tauranga City Council, says all 34 of the city’s public water fountains are in good condition.
“We recognise that drinking fountains are an important part of a happy, healthy and active city,” he says, “so there is an ongoing project to install four more water fountains per year until 2024, with priority given to reserves that have both playgrounds and sports facilities in them.” Western Bay of Plenty District Council reserves and facilities manager, Peter Watson, says the council agrees that access to water is important in public places, but also recognises that it is increasingly common for people to carry water in personal containers.
A fountain is approximately $1500 to replace.” Peter says all WBOPDC fountains are in good working order and are regularly inspected by contractors, however they are sometimes the target of vandalism.

DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) began providing bottled water Friday for drinking and cooking to residents of the Town of Blades in Sussex County.
This response comes after all three of the town’s drinking water wells returned concentrations of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) above the human health advisory level (70 parts per trillion) following recent sampling by DNREC at the request of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
DNREC worked with EPA in sampling the wells given their proximity to potential sources of PFCs from historical industrial processes in the area.
Water from the Blades wells that were sampled is considered safe for use by residents for bathing and laundry.
Bottled water was to be delivered Friday morning to the Blades Elementary School and four day care centers in the area, and also was being provided by noon Friday to all Blades residents via delivery at the Blades Fire Hall.
Alternative sources of drinking and cooking water will be provided until a permanent solution is in place.
Though PFCs are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, DPH is working with DNREC to minimize any potential health impacts to the community.
Long-term exposure to perfluorooctanoicacid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) can affect pregnant women and infants and cause cancer and liver and immune system impacts.
While much research has been conducted on laboratory animals, the accompanying research related to humans is more limited.
MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902 -30- Related Topics: alternative sources of potable water • Blades Fire Hall • bottled water • contaminated wells • deliveries • Town of Blades

UPDATE: A problem with drinking water in the Windsor Hill area has been corrected, and residents no longer need to boil drinking water, the city’s Department of Water Resources said Thursday.
Residents of Yorkshire Circle, Nottingham Circle, Cornwallis Drive and Chesterfield Place had been asked to boil water or use bottled water after a line break was discovered Monday morning.
Any residents with questions are asked to call Lynchburg Water Resources at (434) 455-4250.
Breaking & daily news emails Enter your email: Apps: iOS • Android MONDAY: Lynchburg residents in the area of Windsor Hills Drive should boil their drinking water as a precautionary measure following a water line break.
In order to address the break, the Lynchburg Department of Water Resources must shut off the water to the neighborhood so the section of pipe can be replaced.
The repairs are expected to be completed in approximately six hours and water will then be turned back on, according to Water Resources Spokesperson Jes Gearing.
The boil advisory will last 48 hours.
Residents of Yorkshire Circle, Nottingham Circle, Cornwallis Drive and Chesterfield Place should boil or use bottled water for drinking, food preparation or ice preparation until further notice, according to the city press release on the advisory.
The break was initially discovered by crews around 8 a.m. Monday morning.
According to Gearing, there is no construction in the area and the break is likely due to the fluctuation in temperatures between above and below freezing.

Wolverine denies responsibility for the heavy metals contamination despite the home’s proximity to its House Street dump, the source of a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, plume in Belmont.
"The only thing we believe could be the source is House Street," said Jennifer Carney, who said the home has no lead fixtures or plumbing.
The Carney’s home is one of two Varnum Law firm client properties with lead in the well above the Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water limit of 15-ppb.
Sandy Wynn-Stelt’s home across from the House Street dump was the other property tested for lead.
Wolverine says monitoring well samples from its 76-acre House Street dump haven’t tested positive for lead and "all of the soil samples from the House Street site are well below cleanup criteria for lead."
The DEQ tested 36 homes near the dump for lead and of the seven with detections, "all were well below the state action level," Wolverine said.
The DEQ echoed that finding in a Wednesday statement, while also pointing to the EPA’s January order requiring more investigative work at the House Street dump.
Carney decided to buy the county’s $26 lead test kit after reading the EPA order, which referenced sediment contaminated with lead at 130,000-ppb in the Rogue River near the tannery and a composite sampling collected by Wolverine’s contractor that found lead on Imperial Pine Drive near the House Street dump at 3-ppb.
Carney said fluctuations in the PFAS levels in her well across two rounds of testing indicate that, at least for PFAS, contamination levels change over time.
"Thankfully, it doesn’t take 4-6 weeks like PFAS to get test results.

ROLAND (KFSM) — A letter dated January 18, 2018 was sent out to residents of Roland concerning their drinking water quality.
Read letter, here.
The letter states the drinking water in town is exceeding the allowed contaminant of Trihalomethanes, which is a group of chemicals that form from the chlorine used to treat water.
The letter also states the time frame the water system violated drinking water standards was from the first quarter of 2017 through the fourth quarter of 2017.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, prolonged use can cause cancer or problems with the nervous system, liver and kidneys.
Roland city leaders said because of the time frame they do not want people to be alarmed about the mandatory letter.
"If someone were to drink two liters a day for seventy years, that it would result in three people out of 10,000 people having an increased risk of cancer.
So, it’s not an immediate health concern.
You would have to drink it for several decades for it to really have a health effect from it," said Roland Administrator Monty Lenington Jr.
There is no need to boil water or use an alternative source at this time, officials said.