Decentralized Water Systems - Safe Access & Maintenance Training Initiative
In partnership with Water for People Canada, this initiative focuses on improving water system safety and maintenance in rural First Nations communities in Manitoba that rely on decentralized water infrastructure, with initial implementation in Norway House Cree Nation. The project highlights critical health and safety challenges unique to communities using onsite water holding tanks rather than centralized treatment systems, while strengthening community capacity for sustainable decentralized water system management.
About Project
Project Objectives
This initiative promotes health and wellbeing by ensuring communities have access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems and services in decentralized contexts. The project will raise awareness of occupational health risks specific to maintaining individual water holding tanks, develop innovative solutions for decentralized water infrastructure maintenance, and create comprehensive training resources to support both staff development and public education.
Key Activities
The project encompasses four interconnected components designed to create lasting impact for decentralized water systems:
Assessment & Analysis: The team will conduct a thorough evaluation of current maintenance challenges and conditions affecting decentralized water holding tank systems in the community, documenting specific risks and obstacles faced by Public Works personnel working across multiple individual household installations.
Customized Training Development: Building on assessment findings, the project will produce tailored training materials and engaging visual content designed to resonate with diverse community audiences, from technical staff managing decentralized systems to general community members responsible for household water tanks.
Community Awareness Campaigns: Comprehensive education initiatives will help community members understand the critical importance of proper decentralized water system maintenance and the role they can play in supporting safe water access when each household manages its own water storage.
Hands-On Training Workshops: Young Public Works staff will participate in practical training sessions featuring real-world demonstrations of effective and safe maintenance practices specific to decentralized water infrastructure, building technical capacity for the next generation of community infrastructure leaders.
Expected Outcomes & Impact
The project will deliver comprehensive media content documenting processes, outcomes, and lessons learned, ensuring effective knowledge transfer to other communities facing similar decentralized water infrastructure challenges. An end-of-year impact report will measure reach and effectiveness, while Community Circle Team presentations will share findings with broader audiences.
Multi-Stakeholder Impact:
This collaborative approach creates meaningful contributions across the entire decentralized water infrastructure ecosystem:
Manufacturers benefit from guidance to build better water tanks with improved accessibility, superior materials, and enhanced design features that address the unique maintenance challenges of decentralized, household-level water storage systems.
Installers receive direction on establishing stronger foundations, better stability systems, and proper insulation techniques while maintaining accessible placement of pumps and controllers for safer long-term maintenance across multiple individual installations.
Housing Designers gain insights to prevent mold risks through strategic water tank positioning and improved structural planning that considers both immediate installation needs and ongoing operational requirements in decentralized systems.
Operations & Maintenance Teams develop enhanced protocols for systematic tank maintenance and monitoring across numerous household-level installations, improving safety and efficiency when managing decentralized water infrastructure.
Water Delivery Services implement improved safety protocols and management systems for more reliable service delivery to communities dependent on trucked water and individual storage tanks.
Homeowners develop better understanding of their household water quality and maintenance requirements specific to decentralized systems, leading to more informed decision-making about individual water storage and usage.
Band Administration gains greater appreciation for the complexity of decentralized water infrastructure work and can prioritize these critical projects accordingly within community planning.
Government Agencies receive data and insights that inform improved policy development and more effective funding allocation strategies specifically addressing the unique challenges of decentralized water systems in Indigenous communities.
The project ensures that improvements in decentralized water infrastructure create cascading benefits throughout the entire system, from initial manufacturing to end-user experience, ultimately strengthening the resilience and sustainability of community-managed, household-level water solutions.
Funding Partner
Water For People Canada
