Introduction: How do water treatment facilities get developed?
In Canada, water treatment facilities for the First Nations communities have historically been designed as "design-bid-build projects", using the same design philosophy as for any major municipal system.
While First Nations operators have struggled to run and maintain these more complex systems in Canada, decentralized design-build systems could have been a better fit, for typically 25% to 33% of the capital cost, with a system that is designed to be managed by local staff.
For most sanitary wastewater treatment and drinking water projects, particularly if they are funded from public resources, the typical approach is to hire an engineering firm to develop a unique design for that application. Generally, these firms “recycle” what they have done previously in terms of design philosophy, and then prepare a custom solution that goes out for bid to a construction company: the “design-bid-build” approach described above.
With a "design-build" project, standard and modular designs are adapted to specific applications
For example, if the need at a wastewater treatment plant is 135 m³/day, the installation would use three 50 m³/day systems. Having been built dozens of times, the pieces are assembled seamlessly as with a set of blocks. Permitting can be handled locally. Because of the standardization, circuit rider operators know how they all work, and can typically visit more than one plant per day to check that everything is running smoothly.
The current model used in Canada is not the right one
However, a recent governmental focus on increasing reconciliation and Indigenous rights -- coupled with a growing recognition of the need for sustainable water solutions -- is feeding a recognition that the current model used in Canada is not the right one.
Understanding Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)’s Role in Water Treatment Infrastructure
Indigenous Services Canada’s Mandate
The Federal Info Source website provides Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Sources of Federal Government and Employee Information, including water treatment-related programs.
This is a useful basis for understanding ISC’s current water treatment infrastructure-related mandate:
"ISC provides assistance to First Nations for the planning, design, construction, acquisition, and operation and maintenance of basic infrastructure and capital facilities on reserves. This includes water supply and sewers…with data stored in the Integrated Capital Management system. Records kept include related policies, level of service standards and correspondence.
Further, the ISC provides funding to plan, design, construct, acquire, operate and maintain water and wastewater systems, including the treatment and distribution of water and the collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater.
More specifically, the program provides funding to: coordinate training and capacity building for activities related to water and wastewater facilities; identify on-reserve water and wastewater infrastructure needs; develop water and wastewater infrastructure capital plans; and design and construct water and wastewater infrastructure; and design and implement management practices for water and wastewater facilities maintenance.
The goal of the program is to support First Nations in their efforts to have reliable and sustainable water infrastructure that meets health and safety standards and provides residents of Indigenous communities with a level of service comparable to Canadians in non-First Nations communities. First Nations identify priorities and needs and present project proposals to the Department.
The ISC maintains records related to water and wastewater services, research and policy analysis, program requirements, service standards, guidelines, operation and maintenance of facilities, including capacity building initiative and training of operators."
The stated first aim of ISC’s Strategic Plan 2020-2025 is “transferring control of services to Indigenous partners”. ISC’s Mandate is described on their website thus:
ISC works with First Nations, Inuit and Métis to:
improve access to high-quality services;
improve well-being in Indigenous communities across Canada; and
support Indigenous peoples in assuming control of the delivery of services at the pace and in the ways they choose.
Note the use of the term “improve”. The effect of such a subjective and imprecise term is that the service provider can declare success with the smallest of successes, which has shown to be the case (the example of Kitigan Zibi is instructive: it is not on the list of DWAs, but still requires that bottled water be delivered weekly to many in the community. Why is it not counted?).
The mandate of our organization aligns with the stated ISC plan to transfer of the control of the delivery of services to Indigenous peoples.
Drinking Water Advisories
Remaining long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations communities are counted in several different ways by the Federal and BC governments.
The Water in First Nations Communities ISC page notes that although 144 long-term Drinking Water Advisories (DWAs) have been lifted since November 2015, 28 long-term DWAs still remain in effect in 26 First Nations communities, and 42 short-term drinking water advisories in place in (south of 60, excluding those in the British Columbia region).
However, adding up all the long-term DWAs on the ISC “Remaining long-term drinking water advisories” and those that figure in the “Short-term drinking water advisories” site gives 54 long-term, and 41 short-term DWAs including BC First Nations.
ISC does provide some details regarding progress on many long-term DWAs, using this type of project tracker:
Sometimes, although a lift has been recommended by ISC (as is the case of Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation) it has not been lifted officially. Many of the advisories would appear to be very close to being lifted. The ISC website does not describe challenges in detail.
First Nations Water Commission, in Development by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
From the AFN infrastructure website https://afn.ca/economy-infrastructure/infrastructure/:
Building on the last four years of work since 2018 dedicated to the repeal and replacement legislation for the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act (SDWFNA) the AFN and federal partners have entered the next phase of this project.
The Joint Technical Working Group (JTWG) made up of AFN and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) representatives and other federal partners have been moving forward to co-develop the draft framework for new legislation and the framework for a First Nations Water Commission.
As mentioned above, the proposed new legislation, Bill C-61, is currently with the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. Any work on the Commission would appear to be pending adoption of the new law.