Developing a community-based monitoringudprogram for drinking water supplies in theudIndian Bay Watershed: A baseline study ofudsurface water quality, contamination sourcesudand resident practices and perceptions

摘要

Drinking water issues in rural Newfoundland and Labrador are closely tied to theudhealth of watersheds and thus are relevant to residents, users, and neighboringudcommunities of those watersheds. Because boil water advisories (BWA) and persistentudchallenges to supplying safe drinking water in rural municipalities in Newfoundland areudcommonplace, this project seeks to explore root causes as well as future directions relatedudto these issues. More precisely, this project seeks to design community-based approaches toudwater stewardship to supplement the supply and monitoring of drinking water as currentlyudcarried out by municipalities and the provincial government.udThis project focused on the Towns of Indian Bay and Centreville-Wareham-Trinityud(CWT). The Town of Indian Bay has been on BWA since September 2008, largely due toudinadequate treatment and distribution infrastructure, while the Town of CWT hasudexperienced periodic BWAs in recent years for a variety of reasons. Evidence suggests thatuda significant proportion of the residents in these communities draw their primary drinkingudwater sources from outside the public supply: specifically, from natural roadside springs asudwell as store-bought bottled water. Evidence further suggests that there is a level of distrustudas well as distaste for publicly supplied drinking water among residents. For these reasons,udit may be inadequate to merely “fix” infrastructural and management related issues withinudthese water systems to ensure drinking water safety and security. Public education,udoutreach, participation, and awareness are all critical factors.udSeveral key methods were used to carry out the research. Source water samplingudwas carried out at sites throughout the Indian Bay Watershed (the Town of Indian Bay’sudwater supply) as well as two popular roadside springs. In addition to results that indicateudthe presence of E. coli and therefore threats to public health, this sampling provides audbaseline for future water quality research and the potential to monitor changes waterudquality in the Indian Bay Watershed over time. It also provides a starting point for futureudefforts to monitor the quality of water drawn from popular natural roadside springs, a roleudthat a community-based environmental stewardship organization such as the Indian BayudEcosystem Corporation (IBEC) may potentially fulfill.udA household survey seeking resident practices and perceptions towards theiruddrinking water supplies was also conducted. All households in the communities wereudcontacted for the survey and asked to provide information on household practices as welludas practices while in the IBW. Findings from the survey confirm that a majority ofudcommunity members (55 percent) draw their water from natural roadside springs despiteudthe presence of municipal water systems, and suggest that the reasons for this relate toudtaste, smell, and perceived safety. Concerns over drinking water safety were found to beudboth real and perceived. Survey results demonstrate that perceptions and preferencesudmatter a great deal: distrust of public drinking water supplies has clearly led residents toudseek alternate sources, sources that are unmonitored and may have significant added riskud7udand costs. As users of the IBW, residents appeared both generally informed of, as well asudreceptive to, regulations in the watershed as a protected water supply area. This represents audstrong point from which to guide future environmental education and watershedudstewardship initiatives, although most residents indicated that they did not believe thereudwere any current threats to their drinking water and therefore may be uninformed aboutudpotential risks. Only 20% feel that recreational uses are cause for concern. There were noudreported instances of drinking water-related illnesses in the community over the past year.udThe majority of participants are, however, concerned about such illnesses.udAs part of a commitment to a collaborative, iterative approach to community-basedudresearch and in recognition that the issues around provisioning of safe and secure drinkingudwater are complex and myriad, feedback and input was sought from a diversity ofudstakeholders, government officials, and holders of special knowledge with regards touddrinking water supplies within the region, the province, and elsewhere in the country.udThrough such an approach, researchers sought to identify future drinking water qualityudinitiatives in which community participation may play a vital role. Water security, quality,udand safety are, after all, rooted in the environments in which these communities are based.