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Partners:
Canadian Water Network (NCE), Alberta and Ontario (Environment), PHAC, FN
communities.
Summary: This
research project will generate data, methodologies and tools aimed at
improving knowledge gap on microbial risks with groundwater drinking water
sources of First Nations systems. In this project we will address the
groundwater supply systems that serve aboriginal populations of between 300
and 3000 people in five Canadian provinces: Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan
and Quebec, and we will investigate four aboriginal communities in each of
the provinces. The data, methodologies and tools to be developed will be
useful to Regional Health Officers responsible for ensuring safety of
drinking water, to provincial organizations (ministries of environment and
health, and watershed authorities) responsible for establishing drinking
water quality regulations, to the federal government (Health Canada),
responsible for establishing water quality guidelines and safety for First
Nations. The target users of the information stemming from the project are
managers and personnel who represent these organizations and who are
responsible for decision-making regarding drinking water quality management
and health risk assessment.
The
proposed project will generate robust data which will contribute to the
understanding of
the challenges facing by small utilities with regard to the
management of risk associated with the waterborne disesease transmission.
Armed with the data and knowledge stemming from this research, small
municipilities will also be able to compare themselves with other small
systems across Canada with regard to their
ability to balance those risks.
The project will also produce a framework which will help managers
and health officers improve practices for the reduction of pathogens in
ground water. The findings of this research will be transferred directly to
the municipalities participating in the project and to other small systems
through workshops organized during each year of the project. When updating drinking water and irrigation water quality guidelines,
Health Canada requires consistent data regarding the presence of pathogens
in ground water which have potential adverse effects on human health. The
information regarding the occurrence of pathogens in ground water generated
through this project will considerably improve the analytical basis for
microbial pathogens guideline updates.
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