About drinking water advisories
Details on drinking water advisory types and how they are issued in First Nations communities.
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What are drinking water advisories
Drinking water advisories are issued to warn people that water may be unsafe to drink or use.
Drinking water advisories can be:
- short-term: are in effect for less than 1 year
- long-term: are in effect for more than 1 year
Drinking water advisories can affect:
- 1 building
- part of or a whole community
Drinking water advisories can be issued for many reasons. For example:
- water line breaks
- equipment failure
- poor filtration or disinfection when water is treated
- not enough water intake
A community may also issue an advisory when it does not have:
- someone trained to operate and maintain the water system
- someone trained to test and verify that the drinking water is safe
How drinking water advisories issued
In most areas across Canada, First Nations issue drinking water advisories in their communities. Provincial, territorial or local governments issue drinking water advisories off-reserve.
When there is a concern with drinking water quality, a recommendation to issue a drinking water advisory is given to chief and council, or their delegates, by an Environmental Public Health Officer.
Environmental Public Health Officers:
- are employed by Indigenous Services Canada or First Nations organizations
- provide advice on type of drinking water advisory that should be issued
- provide advice on how to fix the issues causing the drinking water advisory
- recommend when an advisory can be lifted
For more details on how Environmental Public Health Officers assist communities, visit: Environmental public health services in First Nations communities
In British Columbia, the First Nations Health Authority is responsible for providing these services.
In most provinces, chief and council or their delegates:
- issue the drinking water advisory
- take necessary actions to address the cause of the drinking water advisory
- lift the drinking water advisory
Indigenous Services Canada provides funding and support to communities to address advisories. Learn more about how drinking water advisories are lifted: Steps to lifting a drinking water advisory.
Types of advisories
There are 3 types of drinking water advisories:
Boil water advisory
Boil water advisories are issued when:
- there are problems with the water treatment system such as chlorine levels that are too low
- water test results confirm the presence of disease-causing:
- viruses
- bacteria
- parasites
Under a boil water advisory, users should:
- bring tap water to a rolling boil for at least 1 minute before:
- drinking the water
- using the water for other purposes, such as:
- cooking
- making juice, drinks or infant formula
- brushing teeth or cleaning dental appliances like retainers or dentures
- washing fruit and vegetables
- making soup, tea or coffee
- making ice cubes
- sponge bathe infants and toddlers as they may accidently swallow the water and could become ill
- not drink from a public drinking water fountain
Do not consume advisory
Do not consume advisories are also called do not drink advisories. Do not consume advisories are issued when the water system has contaminants that can't be removed from the water by boiling.
Under a do not consume advisory, users should:
- not use their tap water for:
- drinking
- cooking
- making juice, drinks or infant formula
- brushing teeth or cleaning dental appliances like retainers or dentures
- washing fruit and vegetables
- making soup, tea or coffee
- making ice cubes
Under a do not consume advisory, users can still use tap water for:
- hand washing
- washing dishes
- laundry
- bathing, however, infants and toddlers should be sponge bathed to avoid accidentally swallowing the water
Do not use advisories
Do not use advisories warn the public they should not use tap water for any purpose. A do not use advisory is issued when:
- using the water poses a health risk
- the water system has pollutants that can't be removed through boiling
- being exposed to the water through bathing could, perhaps due to a chemical spill, irritate the skin, eyes or nose