Attawapiskat declares state of emergency after receiving water quality tests
From http://www.timminspress.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentID=236823&catname=Local+News
Attawapiskat declares state of emergency; Water quality major concern
Michael Peeling - October 19, 2006
Attawapiskat First Nation declared a state of emergency over the its water quality Wednesday after a series of public meetings and what some officials called a lack of government response to their requests for aid.
The results of water-quality testing done by First Nations Engineering Ltd. in August and symptoms of health problems in children and elders have the band council and citizens concerned that the water quality is deteriorating further.
"The band council had a meeting yesterday and decided to declare a state of emergency because we can't wait anymore to deal with our water issues and concerns about our reservoir," Deputy Chief Miriam Wesley told The Daily Press on Wednesday evening.
"Our sewage problems have been neglected too long, so we had a meeting with our public this afternoon, and they are also asking something be done right away."
Chief Mike Carpenter says the community is worried about the health risks from the water.
"We are very concern about this, especially over health problems that have appeared in children, elders rashes, infections, and other skin problem," Carpenter said in a press release.
Wesley said the province is sending up representatives from the Ontario Clean Water Agency today to deal with Attawapiskat's water worries.
She also said the Ministry of Health is sending people to do another water assessment on Saturday.
"So the government is responding, it's just a matter of whether or not they are going to do it," Wesley said.
In the public meeting Wednesday, residents complained to the tribal council of suffering from rashes and dizziness, a change in the taste of the drinking water.
The people of Attawapiskat ask that the government brings enough bottled water and an emergency water purification system while their water treatment system is assessed and made safe.
The tribal council and residents feel the water continues to be inadequately treated despite having a new water plant commissioned in 2001.
The reports from FNES showed the water contains 6.1 mg per litre of carbon instead of the legislated level of 5.9.
FNES project manager Mike Murray said a high level of carbon in the water can be a problem when chlorine is added, which he says is a common practice across all of Ontario.
The carbon and chlorine can form carcinogens - cancer-causing substances in the water.
FNES also tested for trihalomethanes, a combination of chemicals that can also be carcinogenic. The test result was 0.17 mg per litre, 0.07 higher than the standard acceptable level.
"Health Canada did some follow-up testing and they indicated that their levels of water quality were within acceptable ranges," Murray said.
The Health Canada test for trihalomethanes showed a level of 0.097 mg per litre, which Murray says could be accounted for by the shallowness of the lake from which Attawapiskat gets its water and its lack of contact with the air in the winter.
"Their raw water source changes characteristics throughout the year, which is one of the things that makes it more difficult to treat," Murray said.
As well, Wesley said the people of Attawapiskat want to decrease the high sodium level of the water, which can contribute to hypertension.
She said that as of Sept. 22, Health Canada had deemed the water drinkable, with no E. Coli, but the trihalomethanes and sodium are still too high, especially during the winter.
The band is also concerned that the water reservoir's close proximity to a landfill site and the airport are having ill-effects on the drinking water.
No plans have been made to evacuate Attawapiskat.