Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has announced the end of long-term drinking water advisories in Deer Lake, ON and Sachigo Lake, ON First Nation communities as of April 23, 2018 and April 20, 2018 respectively. With ISC’s support and investment, AUG has been working with these two communities through Safe Water Project where AUG is responsible for providing operational support to the water operators and deploying TRITON Intelligent Water Surveillance® (TRITON) system to the communities.

Drinking water advisories are issued when the water supply is unsafe to drink—the reasons that might affect the water quality may include water line breaks, equipment failure or poor filtration/disinfection. Drinking water advisories may also be issued when a community does not have qualified personnel trained to operate and maintain the water facility. It has been on the Government of Canada’s agenda to lift all long-term drinking water advisories in First Nation communities by March 2021.

AUG, together with its partners and support from ISC, has implemented Safe Water Project in 19 First Nation communities in Ontario since 2015, and is progressing to include more First Nation communities in other provinces to eliminate and prevent drinking water advisories. AUG is excited to see the long-term drinking water advisories being lifted from partnering communities as well as other First Nation communities who have achieved the same.

ISC has also stated that the department will continue to make additional investments to support the finalization of remote water quality monitoring system, TRITON, in First Nation communities as well as fund for TRITON’s annual maintenance costs. As a proven technology that has assisted a number of communities to lift long-term drinking water advisories, AUG is committed to continuously support Safe Water Project and First Nation communities to eliminate and prevent drinking water advisories to secure safe drinking water.

Additional information on ISC’s latest updated on long-term drinking water advisories can be accessed here.