Moving towards Effective First Nations’ Source Water Protection: Barriers, Opportunities, and a Framework

Abstract

It is well known that watershed-based source water protection programs are integral to the provision of clean drinking water. However, the involvement of Indigenous communities in these programs is very limited in Canada, which has contributed to the vulnerability of Indigenous source waters to contamination. Through a partnership with an Anishinaabe community, this research aimed to identify challenges and opportunities for communities and practitioners to improve the protection of Indigenous source waters in the province of Ontario. The methodology followed the Indigenous research principles of relationship, respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility. Interviews and a youth focus group were conducted with Indigenous community members and practitioners from industry, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and government. Analysis was conducted using an iterative process to develop codes and themes in the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. Results indicated that issues with scale, jurisdiction, the concept of source water protection, representation, funding, and capacity impact efforts to protect Indigenous source waters. Hopeful recent developments and upcoming opportunities were identified, and a water protection framework for First Nation communities in Ontario was developed in partnership with an Anishinaabe water protection committee. Recommendations are provided to multiple sectors for moving forward respectfully, and effectively, towards the protection of Indigenous waters.

In a Good Way: Braiding Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems to Understand and Restore Freshwater Systems

“…Another important element of forming relationships is listening. A practitioner interviewed for Marshall et al's [70] work to develop an effective source-water protection plan stated that the most important lesson they had learned was to listen. Similarly, Matson et al [78] list actively listening to Indigenous perspectives as one of their ten tenets for responsible research.…”

“…The scoping review also revealed examples where project teams collaborated to "indigenize" WKS frameworks or structures (e.g., source-water protection plans, environmental assessments), so they aligned with the values of the community [70,89,112,[156][157][158]. Wesche and Armitage [159] used qualitative scenarios (a WKS framework) to understand the vulnerability of an Indigenous community to climate change but ensured the scenarios were communicated through story and visual representations to reflect Indigenous ways of knowing.…”

“…Marshall et al [70] secured long-term funding for community engagement activities: "Researchers also just simply took the time to have a cup of tea, share a meal, and have a laugh with Elders, committee members, and others in the community" (p. 4).…”

Indigenous Peoples understand human health relies on healthy waters

“…27 Marginalized people typically lack clean safe drinking water, and this is a serious issue impacting the health and well-being of Indigenous communities around the world. [28][29][30][31][32] In Canada, First Nation Peoples face multiple water issues including boil water advisories. Boil Water Advisories (BWAs) are issued when water is known, or suspected to be, or could become unsafe for human consumption and range from do not consume to do not use the tap under any circumstance.…”

Septic System Impacts on Source Water: Two Novel Field Tracer Experiments in Fractured Sedimentary Bedrock

“…Source water protection is a complex process that must consider a number of sociopolitical and technical factors, including jurisdictional considerations, flow and transport of water and contaminants in the natural environment, and built infrastructure [1]. While many advances have been made towards protecting drinking water sources around the world in recent years [2][3][4][5][6][7], issues persist in many environments, including vulnerable hydrogeology, aging or inappropriate infrastructure, and where socio-economic and other factors have made it difficult to implement adequate source water protection measures, as is the case in many rural and Indigenous communities [3,5,6].…”