Casting a light on issues in northern Indigenous communities
World Water Day, an event dedicated to spreading awareness of global water-related issues, highlighted the concern about potential drinking water contamination in northern Inuit communities.
The event is hosted every March 22nd by UN-Water, a sector of the United Nations dedicated to water and sanitation. World Water Day focuses on the positive impacts of high quality water and the adverse effects of poor quality water on a society, such as the high levels of acute gastrointestinal illness—which causes diarrhea and vomiting—seen in some northern Inuit communities.
Epidemiology MSc student at the University of Guelph, Carlee Wright, is conducting research under the guidance of advisor Dr. Sherilee Harper on contamination levels of the drinking water in the Inuit community of Rigolet, Labrador.
“We worked with the Rigolet Inuit Community Government (RICG) to collect samples from drinking water that community members store in large plastic containers, and we tested this water for potential fecal contamination,” says Wright. “Almost a quarter of samples tested positive for bacteria that indicate the possible presence of fecal matter.”
Rigolet residents have access to tap water, but due to quality concerns, an advanced drinking water system (ADWS) was constructed in January, 2014. This system is centrally located in the community and applies several purification processes, such as ultraviolet light disinfection, a mechanism used to eliminate any microorganisms that survive after the initial filtration processes. The ADWS is a temporary solution that helps to achieve one of the UN-Water’s goals of providing safe drinking water to communities.
Even with this system’s aid, past research has shown that acute gastrointestinal illness occurs up to three times more often in northern Indigenous communities than in southern regions of Canada. In light of this, Wright focuses her research on the possibility of secondary drinking water contamination after purification and before consumption.
In June 2014,Wright worked with RICG to collect samples from the residents’ purified water, typically collected from the ADWS and stored in large containers within the home. These samples were tested for both E. coli and total coliforms, a type of bacteria that could indicate fecal contamination. These bacteria could suggest the presence of more serious pathogens as well, such as Giardia, a parasite that can lead to malnutrition and severe weight loss after prolonged exposure.
Additionally, Wright and RICG used a questionnaire to collect data regarding the residents’ experiences with acute gastrointestinal illness and their water-related behaviours and practices. Analysis of the survey data will help researchers examine the relationship between potential contamination risks created through water handling, the frequency of this illness in the community, and the contamination levels of the associated samples.
With her work, Wright hopes to provide Rigolet a better understanding of water contamination risks, proper water handling practices, and an increased awareness of water-related health issues to the community as well as across Canada.
“I hope that this leads people to realize some of the challenges faced in Indigenous communities in regard to safe drinking water access,” Wright says. “Considering it’s a resource that a lot of people take for granted in Canada, I think more awareness of the situation in some of these communities is crucial.”
The expected completion date for this analysis and the research project is early fall of 2016.
This research was conducted in collaboration with the Rigolet Inuit Community Government, Nunatsiavut Government.
Additional support and funding is provided by the Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Project and the Inuit Traditional Knowledge for Adapting to the Health Effects of Climate Change Project.