First Indigenous water utility launches in Atlantic First Nations communities

Seven years ago, Nova Scotia’s Potlotek First Nation's poor drinking water quality made national headlines.

Samantha Johnson, an operator-in-training at the community's new water treatment plant, has also lived in Potlotek her whole life. She remembers the days when the water was brown and boil orders were frequent.

"They were all trying to say, you know, 'your water is safe.’ It turns out that it wasn't,” Johnson said.

"Everyone felt like they weren't being listened to, and everyone felt like they had to speak up to try and get the attention that our community needs.”

On Wednesday, a student and a researcher from Dalhousie University were in Potlotek to help launch the country's first Indigenous Water and Wastewater Utility.

It's called the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority — or "AFNWA."

Student Toni Stanhope is an intern with Mitacs -- a nonprofit national research organization.

She called the visit to the water treatment plant a great experience given she's considering a career working with First Nations.

"My background is in environmental engineering, and I've always found that sometimes my work has felt very distant from communities”, Stanhope said. “This definitely gives me the chance to feel more involved in the community and actually see the impact of those changes on the day-to-day."

Dalhousie researcher Megan Fuller said the water treatment plant in Potlotek is a Level 4 facility, which means they have everything they need to test the water daily to make sure of its quality.

"I call this treatment facility a 'spaceship’”, Fuller said. "I think the community here is learning to trust their water, but all AFMWA communities are learning what it means to own and operate their own Indigenous utility."

Interns like Stanhope will do water quality sampling in the first 11 communities on-boarded by the AFMWA, and it's possible some best practices could be developed based on the lessons learned in Potlotek.

"I feel pretty proud”, Johnson said. “I'd like to be able to teach community members a little more."

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