8 - water and indigenous peoples Flashcards
what are the pros and cons of water treatment facilities on reserves
theyre expensive to run and can be poorly maintained
they do create some jobs for the communities though
what are some challenges of the water and reserves
reserves were strategically placed away from rail roads and typically do not have great access to water
the water they do have “ground water” is not good for drinking - needs to be treated
there are nearby land uses which impact water quality (pesticides from nearby crops, mines)
water delivery systems (hoses, trucks) have a lot of points for the collection of bacteria
limited funds and limited freedom with how they can spend those funds
most important challenge of water on reserves
over emphasis on water treatment and not the protection of water sources
what is source water protection
the protection of potable water from groundwater and surface water supplies
source water protection is the ______ barrier in a multibarrier approach to watershed planning
first barrier
what are the five barriers in the multibarrier approach to watershed planning
source protection
water treatment
distribution
monitoring
response plan
walkerton ontario incident with water
farmer spread manure on a field and the following day there was heavy rain, causing the manure to run into a well. ecoli spread through the water system leading to over 2000 illnesses and seven deaths
source water protection was identified as the first barrier to the contamination of drinking water after which event
the walkerton contamination incident (manure on the field, leading to ecoli in the well)
what is an example of source protection
fencing to keep farm animals away from water sources
buffer strips between agricultural facilities and water sources
examples of water treatment
ultraviolet light
filtration
disinfection such as chlorination
examples of distribution as a barrier to water source contamination
ensuring pipes, wells ex are well maintained
five stages of source water protection planning
1) establish a working committee in the community to oversee water sources
2) conduct a source water assessment - what are the nearby land uses, and what threats do they pose to their water supply - takes a long time
3) identify management actions in response to the possible risk
4) implement management actions
5) review the plan after all the other steps have been completed so you can ensure solutions are maintained long term
what could be involved in source assessment
map the source of the water supply, delineate its boundaries
understand what threats surround your water (ex a landfill upstream of your water intake site, uncapped abandoned wells)
how does a water source threat differ from a risk
the threat is simply the presence/existence of something that could pose harm to your water - like the existence of a landfill upstream
the risk is the multiplication of the likelihood (1-5) x the impact (1-5) of this threat
“_____ is key to your water source protection plan”
local knowledge
implementation of your plan to protect source water involves a lot of…
prioritizing the management actions
setting a timeline for the management actions
identify funding sources and partners
what are some structural management actions
maintaining culverts and road crossings
landfill remediation and relocation
sewage lagoon relocation
engineering barriers
what are non-structural management actoins
public education of the importance of maintaining water sources
monitoring
septic tank pumping
removal of stored vehicles and fuel storage
planting vegetation which promotes water quality
land use planning
what are challenges for source water protection planning
- off reserve impacts - you can only control the land that you are in charge of, but nearby activities can still impact your land - which is why partnerships are important
- securing and maintaining funding
- having a good plan champion (coordinator)
- having a good implementation champion - leads the implementation management actions - harder to maintain
benefits of source water protection planning
much cheaper to protect the water than to remediate it
you can access support from provincial and federal programs
youre contributing to environmental stewardship and watershed protection
you build relationships, partnerships, and contribute to reconciliation
