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Latest news about the Safe Drinking Water Team
A family of three lost their home to a fire on Sunday in Délı̨nę, N.W.T. Community leader Leeroy Andre said the former occupants are safe but that all of their belongings were lost to the flames. The disaster is causing leadership to re-evaluate its resources to deal with fires and how the community can be better equipped for the future. Andre said it's not clear why, but there wasn't enough water pressure coming from the community's firetruck.
Many smaller communities rely solely on water trucks to deliver clean water to home. So when the trucks break down, it becomes a headache and even a crisis. That was the case for Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik, in northern Quebec, where recently, all three water trucks broke down and were in disrepair for almost three weeks. "It was a difficult thing because all the water trucks were broken plus all the parts were being backordered from the company we ordered parts from," said Mayor David Annanack, adding that COVID-19 was also causing an issue at the factories where they get parts.
In October, more than 250 members of the Neskantaga First Nation were evacuated to Thunder Bay after an oily sheen was found on their reservoir. The discovery left the community, located in northern Ontario, without access to running water. The evacuation drew attention to the federal government’s 2015 commitment to end all on reserve long-term drinking water advisories (in place for more than one year) by March 31, 2021. Neskantaga has been living under a boil-water advisory for 26 years.
