[1] The primary reasons DWAs are issued in First Nations communities are "disinfection (32%), equipment (30%), microbiological quality (18%), source water quality (6%), operation would compromise (8%), and turbidity (6%)", according to Health Canada, the Assembly of First Nations and the David Suzuki Foundation.
"[5]: 13 For almost two decades—from 1996 to 2015—an arbitrary cap on the base budget of the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), the federal department that funds and regulates water and sanitation infrastructure on reserves, limiting INAC to a 2% annual increase "regardless of population growth, inflation, or need.
"[5]: 13 The funding constraints were first imposed under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (1993–2003), and maintained during the premiership of Stephen Harper (2006–2015).
[3] A June 7, 2016 report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that, while most Canadians in water-rich Canada—one of the world's wealthiest nations—have "access to sufficient, affordable, and safe drinking water and adequate sanitation", while "water supplied to many First Nations communities on lands known as reserves is contaminated, hard to access, or at risk due to faulty treatment systems".
[6] In February 2016, representatives from nine Ontario First Nations called for support at the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva, for the improvement of the water and sanitation infrastructure on reserves, citing Shoal Lake as an example.
Infrastructure was repaired, expanded, or replaced, training was strengthened across the country, and additional funding for operations and maintenance was allocated to communities.
[7] On December 2, 2020, Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, announced additional investments of over $1.5 billion to "ensure clean drinking water in First Nations communities.
[12] INAC had relocated the Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation from their traditional lands on "islands and peninsulas" southeast of the Wabigoon-English River in Western Ontario to the area where the watershed had been contaminated.
[2] The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation have been under a DWA since 2008, "due to fecal, bacterial and algae contaminations".
In December 2020, the federal government announced new funding of $16.7 million to "cover the cost of extending the water mains" from the township of Deseronto and the MBQ's own water-treatment plants which will then be able to serve five areas in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
[14][15] This funding supported the final phase in the "multi-phase project to improve access to safe drinking water for the MDQ community.
The federal government and the First Nation invested a combined total of $18.2 million towards the project, which will "ultimately lift five long-term drinking water advisories in the community".
[7] This final phase was contracted out to Gordon Barr Limited, who began construction work in December 2020.