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Water Fact of the Week

Short-term, excessive levels of nitrates in drinking well water can cause serious illness and sometimes death.  The greatest risk appears to be for babies. They can get methemoglobinemia or "blue-baby" syndrome.

Framework for Safe Drinking Water

The Framework for Safe Drinking Water was completed in August, 2011.

In Canada municipalities own and are responsible for drinking water treatment facilities and must supply the public with safe drinking water. This task is often more difficult in rural municipalities. Smaller communities generally have less expertise, fewer resources, and poorer quality source water than larger cities. Another problem is that most existing water treatment technologies are optimized for larger centres and may not work as well when scaled down. The Framework for Safe Drinking Water is meant to counter these challenges and streamline the daunting task of building new or updating older drinking water treatment facilities. By looking at it from both the legal and health perspectives we can help communities get the safest drinking water possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the framework.

SDWF Facts

1. SDWF aims at making truly safe drinking water a reality for ALL Canadians;
2. SDWF is a not-for- profit Canadian organization;
3. SDWF allocates $.95 of every dollar for program funding;
4. SDWF produces water education programs that are used throughout N. American schools;
5. SDWF uses scientific solutions to treat highly polluted source waters in FN and rural communities;
6. SDWF works extensively with First Nations people throughout Canada;
7. SDWF is comprised of volunteer scientists from universities throughout the world;
8. SDWF scientists have revolutionized water treatment processes with the IBROM;
9. SDWF relies on over 1000 hours per month of volunteer support from volunteers all over the world;
10. SDWF seeks at invoking positive policy change at all government levels;
11. SDWF seeks to promote and develop water treatment systems that are environmentally friendly;
12. SDWF has an internationally renowned Advanced Aboriginal Water Treatment Team;
13. SDWF has many education programs that have been translated into French and Cree;
14. SDWF has over 40 fact sheets online, many of which have been translated into French and Cree.

Public Policy

SDWF is committed to supporting public policies that help people access safe drinking water. We believe that practical policies based on sound science are the best way to ensure that everyone drinks safe water. With over a decade of technical expertise and experience working with rural communities, we educate and inform First Nations, policy-makers and the public to build support for the right policies.
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First Nations Drinking Water Policy

While it is hard for many rural communities to provide safe drinking water, the situation in First Nations communities is especially difficult. Since 1995, a number of reports have highlighted the unacceptable situation in these communities. Health Canada still tells 117 communities to boil their water and Indian Affairs says that there is a good chance that water systems in 85 communities could break down.
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Education

Operation Water Drop - Allows students to perform hands-on tests on their local water and compare their water to other water samples and the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality

Operation Water Pollution - Students learn about what water pollution is, what can be done about the problem and what they, personally, can do about the problem.

Operation Water Biology - Teaches students about chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, iron and biological water treatment (a more environmentally friendly method of treating water)

Operation Water Health - Students are guided through an examination of health issues related to drinking water

Operation Water Flow - A cross-curricular program that gives students a more thorough understanding of issues surrounding drinking water

Operation Water Spirit - Conveys Aboriginal culture and perspectives regarding drinking water

Operation Community Water Footprint - Allows students to calculate how much source water their community uses in order to produce each litre of drinking water