Saskatchewan reserve to get clean drinking water after more than five years.
REGINA — Plans are underway to get a Saskatchewan First Nation clean water after more than five years under a drinking water advisory, and to meet a pledge to end such advisories on all reserves.
The project is expected to be complete by December 2018.
The announcement is part of the federal government’s commitment to end long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves by 2021.
Bennett said the five-year plan for funding gives the government "real confidence that we’re going get this done and get these long-term boil water advisories ended."
Indigenous and Northern Affairs counts drinking water advisories for all on-reserve water systems that it directly funds and over which is has jurisdiction.
"Canadians, First Nations communities have yet to see that plan," he said in an interview.
I want to see how they intend to do this but they haven’t been able to demonstrate that at all."
There are professionals who can determine whether the existing timeline is within reach, Saganash added.
With files from Kristy Kirkup in Ottawa

Saskatchewan reserve to get clean water.
REGINA — Plans are underway to get a Saskatchewan First Nation clean water after more than five years under a drinking water advisory, and to meet a pledge to end such advisories on all reserves.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett announced $9.2 million to replace the water treatment system on the White Bear First Nation, southeast of Regina.
"I think everyone here will acknowledge it’s been a long time coming and for far too long people in your community have not had access to potable water on reserve," Bennett said Tuesday in Regina, where the Assembly of First Nations was holding its annual meeting.
"You should still have the same right as those of us in downtown Toronto to be able to turn on the tap and drink the water and bathe your babies safely — things that most Canadians take totally for granted."
More than 800 residents on the reserve southeast of Regina haven’t been able to drink their water since 2011.
The project is expected to be complete by December 2018.
The announcement is part of the federal government’s commitment to end long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves by 2021.
During the 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeau pointed to 93 different communities under 133 different boil water advisories and suggested he would address the issue as a top priority if his party formed government.
Bennett said the government remains committed to its timeline, noting capacity is building in communities.

‘Trouble in the Water’ aims to give clean water to those in need.
The project’s goal is simple – to get clean drinking water to those who can’t get it for themselves.
Sonya Patrick, who is organizing the drive, says that some GenX in the water is simply too much, and she and others want to make sure the less fortunate in our community can drink safe, clean water free of GenX contamination.
The monthly water drive aims to help senior citizens, and those without transportation or those lacking funds, gain access to bottled water.
"Some of the people in the downtown community can’t make it all the way to Ogden where the free ground water is," Patrick said.
"We want to try to get a filtration system in place in our inner city areas."
The drive is going on every fourth Tuesday of the month at the Robert Taylor Senior homes on North Fifth Avenue in Wilmington.
Drop-off times are from 6–8 p.m.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. – A new report from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says that drinking water in Minnesota is in good shape, but that residents must be prepared to combat new challenges going forward.
A large section of the report is dedicated to some “could it happen here” scenarios relative to cities such as Flint, Michigan which have endured drinking water crises.
Of this $7.4 billion will be needed for Minnesota drinking water plants over the next 20 years.
“Minnesota water is safe to drink thanks to the work of many at the state and local levels.
As threats to our water intensify, we can’t afford to get complacent,” MDH Commissioner Ed Ehlinger said in a press release.
“Aging infrastructure, increasing levels of contaminants and new knowledge about what is in our water threaten our water quality and quantity.
We must continue our work with property owners, communities, other state agencies and additional partners to ensure all Minnesotans have safe and abundant drinking water.” Water contamination by harmful algae blooms is unlikely in Minnesota.
Each of the last four years have seen this goal eclipsed, and 99.4 percent of Minnesotans had access to water meeting those standards.
Of systems that tested negatively in Minnesota in 2016, 31 community systems tested positive for bacterial contamination, one exceeded the standards for nitrate levels, six for arsenic levels, six for naturally occurring radioactive chemicals, and six for lead levels.
MDH is holding a series of ten townhalls on water quality as part of Gov.

War, Corporate Profiteering Among Factors Pushing Over 2 Billion To Lack Safe Drinking Water.
NEW YORK — According to a new report issued by the UN World Health Organization, approximately two billion people around the world lack access to safe, clean drinking water.
Global sanitation issues were also addressed in the report, including open defecation, which has dropped from 20 percent in 2000 to less than 12 percent currently.
However, these war crimes are not mentioned in the UN report.
In some nations, a lack of corporate accountability has made access to clean water unattainable for millions.
In other cases, corporations have stolen drinking water directly from communities.
But these complaints often go unrecognized at the state and federal level.
Even treated and “safe” water in the United States has been found to be contaminated.
For instance, perchlorate has been found in breast and cow’s milk throughout the country, having been transmitted to both humans and cows via contaminated drinking water.
A report last year estimated that as many as 18 million Americans are drinking water with higher levels of lead than is federally permitted.

US SENATOR JOHN BOOZMAN: Clean, reliable water for all.
They give it a D. It’s a brutal assessment, but it needs to be a wake-up call for policymakers.
Access to clean drinking water is not a rural problem or a big city problem, it is not a Republican or Democrat problem, it is a national emergency and we need to find solutions before it is too late.
It is one thing to see these terrible grades on paper, but what does this actually mean for people in their day-to-day lives?
I invited him to testify during a hearing to address problems with America’s water infrastructure system and possible funding and financing investment.
Whenever he sees someone hauling water for lack of access to a well or public water system, he stops them and tells them about the assistance options that are available.
Currently, an estimated 1.7 million Americans live without access to clean, running drinking water in their homes.
We have an Administration that has made infrastructure investment a top priority, coupled with bipartisan support in both the Senate and House.
Developing an infrastructure bill that directly addresses America’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure challenges must be a priority that Congress adopts and brings to fruition.
Contact Senator Boozman at his website, boozman.senate.gov or call his Washington office at (202) 224-4843.

War, Corporate Profiteering Among Factors Pushing Over 2 Billion To Lack Safe Drinking Water.
NEW YORK — According to a new report issued by the UN World Health Organization, approximately two billion people around the world lack access to safe, clean drinking water.
Global sanitation issues were also addressed in the report, including open defecation, which has dropped from 20 percent in 2000 to less than 12 percent currently.
However, these war crimes are not mentioned in the UN report.
In some nations, a lack of corporate accountability has made access to clean water unattainable for millions.
In other cases, corporations have stolen drinking water directly from communities.
But these complaints often go unrecognized at the state and federal level.
Even treated and “safe” water in the United States has been found to be contaminated.
For instance, perchlorate has been found in breast and cow’s milk throughout the country, having been transmitted to both humans and cows via contaminated drinking water.
A report last year estimated that as many as 18 million Americans are drinking water with higher levels of lead than is federally permitted.

GWCL to attain 100% access to potable water in Ghana by 2025.
The 77th Traditional Scientific and Technical Council and Exhibition has been organized by African Water Association in collaboration with Ghana Water Company Limited with the aim of improving the performance of the water and sanitation sector in Africa.
Joseph Kofi Adda (MP) noted that the meeting was also aimed at strengthening the institutional and human capacities to serve as a catalyst for acquiring and improving knowledge in water production and distribution, and sanitation management from the technical, legal administrative and economic point of view.
According to him, studies have shown that, investment in water and sanitation services result in an overall estimated gain of 1.5% of global GDP.
Adding that, there is also the issue of the management of solid waste, which is a huge challenge for Ghana.
“In the face of population growth, these disparities need to be addressed if Ghana is to achieve her sector target of Sanitation and water for all by 2025 and SDG-6 by 2030”, he disclosed.
This he said, the sanitation sub-sector would soon see a modernization of its operations from an injection of modern and state-of –art technology to help get rid of filth and open defecation in the country.
I throw a challenge to the private sector to position itself to take advantage of the opportunities that these innovations come with.
Since government has realized that WASH provision is a shared responsibility and has therefore created the enabling environment for private sector participation and partnership to achieve the national goals and subsequently the SDGs.
This year’s meeting was themed: “Improving the performance of the water and sanitation sector in Africa”.

Proposed EPA cuts would put our safe water at risk.
The proposed budget by the Trump administration for the year 2018 is about on par with that of last year, at about $4.1 trillion.
However, many departments are expected to suffer from extreme cuts.
This would be a budget decrease of 31.4 percent and lead to a loss of 15,000 jobs, which accounts for about a quarter of all jobs at the EPA.
The cuts within the agency include decreases to grants that help states monitor public water systems.
It is proposed that these grants be cut by one-third, from $102 million to $71 million.
This could be dangerous for Americans because unsafe levels of lead have turned up in the tap water of many cities, besides just Flint Michigan.
These grants, including such grants as the Public Water System Supervision Grant, have been crucial in ensuring that communities in the United States have access to clean drinking water.
In the United States, we are privileged for the access that we have to clean water.
These extreme cuts to the budget of the EPA threaten our access and rights to safe, clean water.

Proposed EPA cuts would put our safe water at risk.
The proposed budget by the Trump administration for the year 2018 is about on par with that of last year, at about $4.1 trillion.
However, many departments are expected to suffer from extreme cuts.
This would be a budget decrease of 31.4 percent and lead to a loss of 15,000 jobs, which accounts for about a quarter of all jobs at the EPA.
The cuts within the agency include decreases to grants that help states monitor public water systems.
It is proposed that these grants be cut by one-third, from $102 million to $71 million.
This could be dangerous for Americans because unsafe levels of lead have turned up in the tap water of many cities, besides just Flint Michigan.
These grants, including such grants as the Public Water System Supervision Grant, have been crucial in ensuring that communities in the United States have access to clean drinking water.
In the United States, we are privileged for the access that we have to clean water.
These extreme cuts to the budget of the EPA threaten our access and rights to safe, clean water.