Darkness in Residential Water by Graham Hanson

By Graham Hanson|For Walling’s BlogSpot|Posted May 7, 2019   

Photo taken Graham Hanson It represents  water filled with toxins  that are on reserves due to boiled water advisories

Turning on the tap and having clean drinking water is one thing most Canadians take for granted, but not for Indigenous and First Nations people living on reserves across Canada. For decades many reserves, to this day, are on boil water advisers and are not getting help to change this problem. Which this lack of clean water leads to results in flu-like symptoms such as, diarrhea and vomiting from drinking the unclean water. In May of 2018 the Canadian government took a statistic of reserves, they found that 174 that are on water advisories, these advisories go back far as 1995 that is 20 years and counting. Reserves don’t have clean water pipes, they have not been changed or serviced for two decades on some reserves. This problem is not anywhere near being fixed. Some families drive over 100 kilometers to go to water stations, often only a few barrels worth of clean water. If that is not accessible than they need to boil water which is more time consuming. Boiling water consists of heating it up, over a stove, to burn off chemicals that could affect you.

My solution for this problem, of clean drinking water for reserves, is to have energy efficient water plants that will be able to filter the contaminated water that is already there to make it safe for people living on reserves. How I feel this will be the best for the environment and the people living there is, have solar powered by wind and panels, water plants that don’t give off any harmful emission. Because right now, water stations on reserves give off emissions that are not good for our earth, so what is the point of even having safe drinking water. With Solar powered stations and reusing the water that is already on reserves by filtering it to make it safe is the best choice. This should be done, instead of digging up more areas to put pipes into the ground to run clean water to reserves. By using the water that is already on reserves it could save more money to invest in our ways to make it easier to live.   

Works Cited

Nadeem, Sharon, et al. “Finding a Solution to Canada's Indigenous Water Crisis.” BBC News, BBC, 26 Aug. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44961490

Northern Affairs Canada. “Ending Long-Term Drinking Water Advisories.” Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 3 May 2019, www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1506514143353/1533317130660.                                               

“The Council of Canadians.” Safe Water for First Nations | Page 3 | The Council of Canadians, 13 Dec.   2018, canadians.org/fn-water?page=2.