Forming an Unusual Partnership
CHALLENGE: Middle River, a small and remote community in the Tl’azt’en Nation, was faced with serious drinking water challenges that prolonged a a 14-year boil water advisory. The village, with population variances of five to 40+ people, utilizes a traditional water source of a nearby river. Since 1998, efforts have been underway to identify and implement a water treatment system appropriate for the community and robust enough to treat high organics, turbidity and bacteriological matter. The challenge was heightened by the remote location of the community, a historical lack of communication and engagement with local residents, power and connectivity challenges and minimal operator resources. In the last two decades, there had been efforts to address the issues; at one point ground water was considered as a source, but the well was clogged to protest reports it contained a low amount of arsenic. Also, a sophisticated treatment plant was installed but it proved to be too complicated for local operators to run, so it was quickly decommissioned.
SOLUTION: The community leadership, the operator and residents partnered with the water industry to investigate viable solutions. The participants conducted a thorough pilot study of various treatment options. In particular, an innovative biological ion exchange was tested, a new technology that had not been commercially available for treating drinking water. The project team developed a unique partnership with experts from universities, engineering firms, a manufacturer, health authorities and the funding agency to validate the viability of the solution. The long-lasting BWA was lifted in 2018. The project received several awards, including the most prestigious award in the consulting engineering industry.
KEY CONSIDER ATIONS: The project team brought together experts who worked to identify and develop a solution that was beyond the mandate of their respective organizations, and foreign to their own context.
Middle River in the Tl’azt’en Nation resolved a 14-year boil water advisory in 2018 by implementing an innovative biological ion exchange treatment system, thanks to a successful collaboration with experts and local leaders.
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Water Health Equity
One in six Canadians, including the majority of 1.6 million Indigenous people, live in rural areas and often face exposure to negative health and socio-economic impacts from unsafe drinking water. It’s a persistent crisis that has dragged on for decades, a dubious achievement for a rich nation often celebrated as a global humanitarian and human rights leader.
Treading Water
To tackle water advisories in Indigenous communities, we created "Treading Water," a 20-minute play with UBC's research-based theatre experts. The play highlights the experiences of water operators and communities, aiming to spark dialogue on water quality issues.
Operators’ Walkthrough Lab (OWL): Digital Circle in Action
RESEAU created AR apps for virtual walkthroughs of water treatment plants, enabling community input, reducing design errors, and providing remote monitoring and training. These tools were piloted at Yukon University in 2020 to support operator training and design accuracy.
