Drinking-water strategy needed

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This article was published 13/03/2015 (4246 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — A lobby group demanded action after news that more than 1,800 advisories for drinking-water quality were in place across Canada in January.

The Council of Canadians released a report detailing the number of advisories in each province and territory. It called on the federal government to develop a national water policy.

There were at least 1,838 advisories in place in Canada in January, the report found, including 126 in First Nations. There were 155 in Manitoba, which had the fourth-highest number. B.C., with 544 advisories, had the most.

“Imagine having to boil water for everything you do in your home: to cook, clean, wash,” wrote Emma Lui, author of the report.

“Not being able to turn on taps and get clean, safe water is a problem that many families across Canada and in First Nation communities face — some for years at time.”

Winnipeggers endured a boil-water advisory for two days in January because of a faulty test.

Manitoba boil-water advisories, which are listed on the provincial government website, include 85 public water systems, which means they have at least 15 connections, 54 semi-public systems, which have from two to 14 connections, and 16 advisories for area-wide private wells.

In Manitoba, more than 30 advisories affect recreational properties such as campgrounds, RV parks and yacht and golf clubs.

Some apply to towns and villages, and some have been in place for more than a dozen years.

In the RM of Lac Du Bonnet, more than 800 people who get their water from nine different co-operative water systems, have been told to boil water for almost four years.

Cathie Brereton, reeve of the RM of Lac du Bonnet, said getting clean drinking water to all residents is a priority but it’s complicated and expensive. “We’re try to work so everyone can have water,” she said. “It’s a big project and it’s not cheap.”

The RM doesn’t have a water plant and works with other municipalities to tap into their water supplies. “A new water plant is in the millions,” she said.

The Council of Canadians wants water recognized as a human right. It also wants a national water infrastructure fund, a strategy to address water pollution and a ban on bulk water exports.

The report is critical of the federal government for promoting industries that use large amounts of water, such as the oilsands and mining sectors, while “cutting funds to critical water research, and muzzling scientists who conduct research on these polluting industries.”

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca