Freshwater Canada ’s Dirty Water Secret

Water jugs in the community water center in Grassy Narrows, Canada. April 13, 2016. © 2016 Human Rights WatchBy Marcos OrellanaWASHINGTON DC, Apr 4 2019 (IPS) While residents across Prince Rupert, British Columbia are once again able to get safe drinking water from their taps, the boil-water advisory lifted there in late January should not be forgotten. Canada is a freshwater-rich country, but the time for complacency on essential water issues has long passed. Most people living in Canada have access to safe water. But drinking water advisories in the country about unsafe water have been concentrated in First Nation communities. As of December 31,  there were six “boil-water advisories” and three “do not consume advisories” affecting eight First Nations Indigenous communities in British Columbia. The Prince Rupert boil-advisory responded to an increase in the levels of cryptosporidium and giardia, two parasites that cause intestinal health problems. The contamination is thought to have been brought on by the combination of a severe drought in British Columbia during the summer and a large storm surge that soon followed. Similar environmental and health problems can be expected to recur.  According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the onslaught of extreme weather patterns caused by intensifying climate change will only continue. The water crisis in Prince Rupert lasted for nearly six weeks and left 12,000 people without drinking water, according to ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Environment Featured Headlines Health Indigenous Rights North America TerraViva United Nations Water & Sanitation Source Type: news