First Nations wastewater treatment systems in Canada: Challenges and opportunities

摘要

The Government of Canada has prioritized the availability of water and wastewater services for the Canadian First Nations Communities (CFNC) and introduced the First Nations Water and Wastewater Action Plan. Several studies explore that many wastewater treatment systems (WWTS) in the CFNC do not meet the effluent discharge limits. The objectives of this study were to examine the existing WWTS in CFNC, investigate the progress and improvement opportunities, evaluate the risk levels, encapsulate the financial condition, and provide recommendations for the overall improvement of the WWTS in CFNC. The authors found significant improvement in 2011 when 98% of the Canadian First Nations houses received wastewater services in comparison to only 50% in 1978. However, 1,777 First Nations houses did not receive any wastewater services. In 2011, 21% of the wastewater systems were operated exceeding the facilities’ design capacities. The overall high-risk and medium-risk wastewater systems have reduced from 14 and 51% in 2011 to 6 and 41% in 2014–2015, respectively. The Government of Canada committed to provide $4.2 billion for the 10-year period (2011–2021) against the estimated cost of $6.3 billion. Increasing and proper utilization of the allocated budget is recommended to fill up the financial gaps.