Grassy Narrows First Nation has faced a wide variety of water supply, quality, and management challenges. The community has endured years of severe water pollution resulting from nearby industrial activities and poorly designed water treatment infrastructure. Of the challenges that will persist or emerge, wastewater management is likely to present the most serious threat. This research proposes that Grassy Narrows install a wastewater re-use facility to treat wastewater to a potable standard. Given the long history of water challenges, maintaining reliable and well-functioning water systems is paramount for the community’s well-being. Installing a wastewater re-use facility would proactively bring the community additional capacity and resources for managing an uncertain future while maintaining sovereignty and autonomy as a First Nation. 

Introduction

Located on the English River Indian Reserve 21 in northwestern Ontario 40 kilometers northeast of Kenora, the Grassy Narrows First Nation (Asubpeechoseewagong Netum Anishinabek) is a nation of approximately 1500 people. The reserve is located on the Wabigoon-English River system, which feeds into Grassy Narrows Lake (Ontario Regional Director-General, 2018) (see Figure 1).  

Canada has a long history of treaties with indigenous peoples, the majority of which served to enact colonial and paternalistic policies into law (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, 2020). The area where the Grassy Narrows First Nation is located was a part of Treaty 3 of the 1871-1972 Numbered Treaties. As a result of Treaty 3, there was significant disruption of waterways due to damming for navigation and electrical generation (see Figure 2). The reserve Ontario recognizes as Grassy Narrows’ current location is a reduced area relative to the traditional lands of the First Nation. In the 1960s, the Canadian government pressured Grassy Narrows to move from their former location along the English River to their current location on Grassy Narrows Lake. The difference between the living along the English River and Grassy Narrows Lake is significant in terms of soil quality for agriculture and access to water suitable for drinking (Christian Peacemaker Teams, 1999). 

Currently, surface water resources for the community are ample, but of poor quality (see Figure 3). Surface water near Grassy Narrows has long been contaminated with mercury: during the 1960s the Dryden Chemical Company dumped 10 tons of mercury into the English River. The company also buried mercury drums, poisoning groundwater in the area. Ninety percent of the population suffers from mercury poisoning (Gilson, 2019), and mercury contamination of waterways and fish populations decimated local economies based in tourism and commercial fishing (Vecsey, 1987). 

The majority of people in the Grassy Narrows First Nation are served by a public water system. There is limited groundwater availability due to shallow and small aquifers in the area. Grassy Narrows First Nation has recently upgraded its water treatment plant to an ultra-membrane system to remove mercury contamination from drinking water (Gilson, 2019). The long-term drinking water advisory that was in place since June 2014 due to severe contamination was lifted in 2020, and two wells (Snake Point Well and Mission Road Well) were replaced by water distribution connections to the main water treatment system. Surface water feeding the water treatment plant comes from Grassy Narrows Lake, which is part of the English River system. The English River system watershed does not have a source protection plan (Human Rights Watch, 2016). 

Water Challenges

Grassy Narrows First Nation has historically and continues to face a wide variety of water supply, quality, and management challenges (see Figure 4). Many of these challenges are intertwined or compounding (e.g., jurisdictional complexities, operational capacity, water infrastructure management). Many of these challenges have been completely or partially addressed, while others will likely persist or emerge in the future.  

Challenges Currently Being Addressed

Some of the water security challenges Grassy Narrows faces are currently being addressed by a set of key actors, including Grassy Narrows First Nation, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), Bimose Tribal Council and HUB Services, and The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. 

Funding Challenges 

Operations and maintenance for Grassy Narrows and other First Nations has historically been underfunded. Prior to 2021, although all capital costs were provided by ISC, First Nations were technically responsible for 20 percent of the costs of maintaining water and wastewater systems, though the federal government did not evaluate the ability of First Nations to cover these costs (Stastna, 2019; Human Rights Watch, 2016). In July of 2021, ISC announced an agreement in which full O&M costs would be covered by the federal government (APTN National News, 2021). 

Ongoing impacts of mercury poisoning 

An estimated 90 percent of Grassy Narrows members suffer from mercury poisoning (Human Rights Watch, 2019). Mercury has lifelong impacts, and may be passed along to fetuses in pregnant people (Minamata, 2007). Because mercury is still present in both surface water and soils within the watershed, continued or increased levels of mercury contamination are a concern for Grassy Narrows. To address the ongoing impacts of mercury poisoning, Grassy Narrows is building a Mercury Care Home, with funding from ISC (Wawa News, 2021). Additionally, mercury remediation efforts along the English and Wabigoon Rivers are currently underway under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (Ministry of the Environment, 2021). However, it is unclear from publicly available documentation the current status of remediation efforts. The most recent activities listed on the Ministry of the Environment’s website for this remediation work are dated from March of 2018, although the webpage was updated as of November, 2021. Grassy Narrows First Nation is involved in the remediation process with a seat on a panel that directs expenditures for remediation, along with other First Nations and the government of Ontario. 

Poor Water Quality 

Grassy Narrows relies almost exclusively on surface water for water resources. Prior to the completion of the First Nation’s new water treatment plant, some residents purchased water from Kenora (PSAC-AFPC, 2016), and there are some wells tapping a low-yield aquifer (Natural Resources Canada, 2009). The newly upgraded water treatment plant helps to address poor water surface water quality – the system relies on an ultra-membrane filtration system (Kokanie, 2021). Additionally, mercury remediation efforts in the watershed have the potential to improve water quality. 

Operational capacity 

Increased funding from ISC to cover the full costs of O&M should improve operational capacity constraints for Grassy Narrows. Additionally, HUB Services through the Bimose Tribal council provide logistical and technical support to Grassy Narrows and other First Nations in northwest Ontario. The Aboriginal Water and Wastewater Association of Ontario also has an annual meeting that facilitates community for First Nation operators, and provides courses and test preparation for licensing exams (Kokanie, 2021). ISC is also looking to provide funding for the salaries of at least two full time operators for each plant (Kokanie, 2021). 

Challenges Currently Unaddressed

Some water challenges that Grassy Narrows faces currently remain unaddressed, including jurisdictional complexities, watershed management, and a lack of legally binding drinking water standards. While there are possible solutions or steps toward managing these challenges, many of the solutions should be implemented at a higher level (e.g., regional or national government), which makes them challenging to explore at the local level. This mismatch in level of solution is particularly true for the issue of jurisdictional complexity and watershed management. Similarly, when it comes to issues of watershed management, other national ministries (e.g., Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry) are the primary government agencies involved (rather than ISC), which makes it difficult for Grassy Narrows to have a clear pathway for meaningful involvement. Finally, issues of legally binding drinking water standards remain difficult to find solutions for given that setting a standard brings in issues and questions of first nations’ sovereignty and autonomy (Assembly of First Nations). Given the constraints associated with solutions to address these other challenges, we have focused on future wastewater management as the key challenge that Grassy Narrows could take significant steps to manage in the near future.  

Key Outstanding Challenge: Future Wastewater Management

Of the challenges that will persist or emerge at Grassy Narrows, the key water challenge is wastewater management. Currently, sewage is pumped back into Grassy Narrow Lake after treatment, very near the intake valve of the water plant. A Human Rights Watch report notes: “One of the sewage lift stations in the system is located meters from the intake valve of the community’s water plant—in the case of overflow, raw sewage would be released into the lake very near where the community draws its drinking water” (Human Rights Watch, 2016). Specific locational data for sewage treatment infrastructure are not available. Not everyone in the Grassy Narrows First Nation reserve is connected to the sewage system; some people in the community use outhouses when the sewage system or septic systems fail (Human Rights Watch, 2016). Data from the government of Ontario indicate there is a project in the planning phase to replace failing sewage pumping stations for the Grassy Narrows First Nation, and ISC is currently undertaking an assessment of the communal wastewater collection system (Government of Ontario, 2021). 

The Grassy Narrows First Nation has a long history of severe water contamination challenges due to nearby industrial activities, flawed treatment plant design, and slow-moving national bureaucracy. For example, the surface water treatment plant installed at Grassy Narrows First Nation in 1993 was later found to be critically flawed, leading to issues with water contamination (Ontario Regional Director-General. 2018). The system design did not allow for water to have enough contact time with disinfectants, resulting in unsafe drinking water. In addition, the plant was not designed to filter bacteria that cause severe gastro-intestinal problems (Cryptosporidium and giardia) (Human Rights Watch, 2016). Grassy Narrows was under a long-term drinking water boil advisory from 2014 to 2020 (Human Rights Watch, 2016). 

Given the long history of mercury contamination, the ongoing health problems that the community is facing due to mercury poisoning, and six-year drinking water advisory caused by insufficient infrastructure, it is of paramount importance that Grassy Narrows begins to address emerging issues to avoid further disruptions to their water systems. As such, the First Nation and ISC should turn their attention to wastewater management on the reserve. Information from publicly available resources and interviews conducted for this analysis indicated that ISC considers wastewater to be an emerging challenge at Grassy Narrows (Government of Ontario, 2021; Kokanie, 2021). 

Proposed Solution: Wastewater Re-Use Facility

Grassy Narrows First Nation faces many water security challenges. We propose the construction of a wastewater re-use facility to address emerging water security issues for Grassy Narrows. The First Nation has committed significant energy to addressing existing issues and has successfully lobbied the Canadian Government, and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) in particular, to provide increased funding for infrastructure improvements and essential operations and maintenance. The focus of our proposal is to tackle an emerging issue: wastewater facility improvements. In April of 2020, ISC and Grassy Narrows First Nation reached an agreement for the construction of a mercury care home (Bruser, 2020). This facility will provide services for community members suffering from mercury contamination, including palliative care and mental health counselling programs (Bruser, 2020). We believe the construction of this facility provides a “dig once” opportunity – construction of the facility can be joined with the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant that treats wastewater to the level of potable reuse. A potable wastewater reuse facility would address increasing water demands, a limited water resource portfolio, and an existing need to repair the wastewater facility at Grassy Narrows. 

Constructing a wastewater re-use facility will primarily address the key challenge of wastewater management. However, this solution will also serve to manage some of the interconnected or secondary water challenges at Grassy Narrows, including the ongoing impacts of mercury poisoning, poor water quality, water infrastructure management, and operational capacity: 

• Ongoing Impacts of Mercury Poisoning: the wastewater re-use facility will be constructed in conjunction with the planned mercury care center at Grassy Narrows. The wastewater re-use infrastructure will provide an additional layer of protection to ensure members of the Grassy Narrows First Nation are never exposed to mercury in the future. 
• Poor Water Quality: Because of the locations of the current drinking water intake and sewage outfalls, drinking water is at risk of contamination from sewage. This improved wastewater facility will reduce the likelihood of sewage interacting with the drinking water intake and improve overall long-term drinking water quality. 
• Water Infrastructure Management and Operational Capacity: Currently, the Grassy Narrows Water Treatment Plan has only one operator with no supporting staff. Grassy Narrows does not have the funding to hire a second operator, so the lack of redundancy in the system means that any failure or disruption in the operations of the existing water treatment system would leave the community without a safe source of drinking water. Constructing a new wastewater re-use facility would also include training and hiring an operator to run the facility. This operator would work closely with the water treatment plant and would be able to provide backup or supporting operations if needed.  

Technical Details

Our proposed wastewater reuse system will use a Microfiltration Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) system and UV disinfection (see Figure 6). Processed wastewater will then be returned to local surface water in either Grassy Narrows Lake or the English River. MBR systems are advantageous for small communities compared to conventional wastewater treatment systems because they require little space, and have O&M and construction costs that are comparable to conventional wastewater treatment methods (WateReuse, 2010). Additionally, the MBR system is well-suited for Grassy Narrows in particular because this system is similar to the water treatment method implemented in the new water treatment plant (ultra-membrane filtration). 

To reduce construction costs and increase efficiency, we propose the wastewater reuse system be sited near the proposed Mercury Care Home. Co-locating these two facilities will make it easier to link them for non-potable wastewater reuse if necessary, and allows for a “dig once” approach to construction. 

Advantages of a MBR System

MBR wastewater treatment systems are a relatively new method, developed in the past 20-30 years (Banti, 2020). A key advantage for MBR systems for small communities such as Grassy Narrows is the small footprint of MBR facilities have relative to traditional wastewater treatment facilities (Banti, 2020). Additionally, MBR systems produce higher quality effluent, less sludge (Banti, 2020), and are more effective at filtering heavy metals out of influent (see Figure 7 for results from a related study) (King County, 2008). For Grassy Narrows, an MBR system is also likely to have operational overlap with the new water treatment plant, which uses an ultra-membrane filtration system similar to that used in MBR wastewater treatment systems. We believe reaching a potable standard for wastewater treatment is of particular benefit for Grassy Narrows, as the community is situated in a highly-connected hydrologic area, and the quality of wastewater returned to the system will impact the intake water into the water treatment plant. An MBR system with UV disinfection can attain this standard with a smaller facility footprint than a traditional system, and will have operational overlap with the water treatment plant Grassy Narrows currently operates. 

Precedents

MBR Systems 

MBR systems are a wastewater treatment system that has been proposed or implemented in communities similar to Grassy Narrows in the past several decades. In 2005, a study of the applicability of an MBR system for a Northern Manitoban Aboriginal Community found the system to be affordable and effective, necessitating some manual O&M, and well-suited to pairing with UV disinfection (Frederickson, 2005). More recently in May of 2021, the town of Erin, a rural township with a population of approximately 12,000 and northwest of Toronto proposed implementing an MBR system for the municipality’s wastewater treatment plant (Canadian Impact Assessment Registry, 2021). The Dene Tha’ First Nation is also likely to upgrade their wastewater treatment plant to an MBR system; their current facility is at the end of its service life, and an MBR system is currently under proposal for the First Nation of approximately 3,000 in Northern Alberta (Canadian Impact Assessment Registry, 2020). MBR systems have also attracted the attention of private water companies; Suez Water submitted a proposed in 2020 for a MBR system at a wastewater treatment facility for Saskatoon (Suez, 2020). 

 

Potable Wastewater Reuse 

Wastewater reuse is most frequently used in arid areas for non-potable uses. Orange County in California, USA and Singapore are two well-known examples of water utilities implementing potable wastewater reuse. The Orange County system relies on reverse osmosis through cellulose acetate membranes, and processed wastewater is filtered back into existing aquifers as groundwater recharge (Sedlak, 2014). Singapore uses a four-step process for potable reuse, using ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection before adding the water to the city’s reservoirs (PUB, 2020). While Grassy Narrows is not in an arid climate like Orange County, the First Nation is similar to Singapore in that it has limited opportunity to diversify its water portfolio. The reserve does not have groundwater reserves on which to rely, and precipitation is not substantial enough to justify rainwater capture. Some Grassy Narrows members purchased water from Kenora before the water treatment plant upgrades, but not all community members can afford purchase of private water. Including wastewater reuse would add another water source option for the community, reducing pressure on the water treatment plant, and help accommodate increased water demands associated with the mercury care center. 

 

Mercury Care Home 

The planned mercury care center will increase water demands for Grassy Narrows (Kokanie, 2021). The care facility is modeled after facilities in Japan for victims of Minamata Bay contamination (see Figure 8) (Kokanie, 2021; Wawa News, 2021). Treatment for mercury poisoning is generally therapy-based; either for temporary relief of symptoms with symptomatic therapy, or rehabilitation via physio- and occupational therapy (Minamata, 2007). The planning care home for Grassy Narrows will have in-patient capacity for 22 patients, and will also provide out-patient services (Wawa News, 2021). This care home is anticipated to increase water demands for Grassy Narrows, and incorporating wastewater reuse can alleviate some of that demand. 

Timeline & Funding

Consistent with other infrastructure projects for Grassy Narrows and other First Nations, we anticipate that ISC will fully fund the project. While cost estimates for construction of this type of wastewater reuse facility are not precise, we believe this type of infrastructure cost is within the range of costs previously covered by ISC. The estimated cost of the mercury care facility is currently $68.9 million (Canadian dollars, 2020) (Government of Canada, 2021), which we anticipate will be significantly more expensive than the wastewater reuse facility. The upgraded water treatment plant for Grassy Narrows cost $5.2 million (Indigenous Services Canada, 2021), and cost estimates for low-volume MBR facilities from a decade ago list small facility costs as ranging from $2.7 to $22 million (Canadian dollars, 2020) (WateReuse, 2010). With increased adoption of MBR technology, we anticipate relative costs of materials and operations and maintenance will have decreased. Additionally, with effective funding for technical support from HUB services, we anticipate that shared knowledge and experience can reduce the upfront cost of learning to operate a new system. 

Construction on the mercury care facility is currently slated to start in spring of 2022 (CBC News, 2021) – ideally the construction of the wastewater treatment facility would align with this timeline, to reduce disruptions in the community. While there is limited information available on the lifespan of MBR wastewater treatment plants, the membranes often require replacement every 8-10 years (EPA, 2007). Despite this, MBR system costs are generally comparable to traditional wastewater treatment systems (see Figure 9).

Conclusion

Given the long history of polluted water and infrastructure failures that Grassy Narrows has been subjected to in the past, maintaining reliable and well-functioning water systems is paramount for the community’s future wellbeing. Installing a MBR wastewater treatment facility would bring Grassy Narrows additional capacity and resources for managing an uncertain future while maintaining sovereignty and autonomy as a First Nation. While treated wastewater would primarily be deposited back into Grassy Narrows Lake, in the case of an emergency or other urgent situation the community could employ the treated wastewater for potable uses. Similarly, the First Nation may wish to retrofit the treated wastewater for other residential non-potable uses (e.g., flushing toilets or outdoor use), as the need arises. Overall, treating wastewater to this high standard would allow members of the Grassy Narrows First Nation to determine how best to manage their water resources in the future.   

References

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