Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I provide an overview of how GNWT departments, the federal government and the water boards collaborate to ensure high-quality drinking water is provided to the residents of the Northwest Territories. I also want to highlight some of the innovative work being done to support community drinking water systems.
Community governments own and operate the drinking water treatment plants in their communities. However, they are not in it alone. Four GNWT departments work together to support drinking water management: Public Works and Services, Environment and Natural Resources, Health and Social Services, and Municipal and Community Affairs. Jointly, these departments coordinate their services through the Interdepartmental Management Committee on Drinking Water and Wastewater.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources holds the primary responsibility for water resource management, including protecting municipal water sources in the NWT. ENR will soon be releasing an updated 2016-2020 Water Stewardship Action Plan. The action plan lays out a partnership approach to improve and enhance water stewardship.
This year, the Department of Health and Social Services is responsible for reviewing data collected by community governments during their regular testing of drinking water. Under the guidance of the Chief Public Health Officer, it is also responsible for taking action if any test results exceed the guidelines for Canadian drinking water quality.The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs provides support to community governments through the training and certification of water treatment plant operators; the provision of funding for the operation of water and sewer services and related capital; technical support for operations; and assistance with capital project delivery.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to continue to monitor drinking water quality and to support the development of community-based water monitoring systems. In 2016-17, MACA will be installing remote monitoring systems in NWT water treatment plants in Aklavik and Tsiigehtchic and investigating other communities for similar installations. Four communities, Lutselk’e, Jean Marie River, Wrigley, and Fort Good Hope, currently have these systems installed and are fully operational. This type of system allows GNWT staff in regional centres to monitor systems in real time, log long-term trends and more easily provide operational support to community government staff.
This year, MACA and PWS will be working with the communities of Paulatuk, Wekweeti and Gameti on the completion of new water treatment plants. When these plants are complete, all NWT communities will have modern water treatment plants which meet the strict Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines. This is an important milestone for our government and our people, Mr. Speaker. If the public is interested in learning more about drinking water in the Northwest Territories, or in their community, I invite them to visit the GNWT’s drinking water website at www.nwtdrinkingwater.ca. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.