The status of water security in small, rural, and remote communities in Canada: a review.

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Title: The status of water security in small, rural, and remote communities in Canada: a review.
Authors: Nasimi, Sorour1 (AUTHOR) nasimi@unbc.ca, Dorosti, Mostafa1 (AUTHOR), Hu, Guangji2 (AUTHOR), Li, Zoe3 (AUTHOR), Sadiq, Rehan4 (AUTHOR), Li, Jianbing1 (AUTHOR) Jianbing.Li@unbc.ca
Source: Environmental Reviews. 4/27/2026, Vol. 34, p1-22. 22p.
Subject Terms: *Water security, *Wellhead protection, *Groundwater, *Public health, Indigenous peoples, Countries, Rural conditions
Geographic Terms: Canada
Abstract: Water security in small, rural, and remote (SRR) communities in Canada is a critical issue with far-reaching implications for public health, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Comprising over 70% of the SRR population in Canada, Indigenous communities are 90 times more at risk of having unclean water as compared to non-Indigenous communities. A multifaceted review of water security in SRR communities was conducted in this study, focusing on different source water types, contamination sources and their distributions across provinces, the associated health and environmental risks, and the annual trends and causes of water advisories. Findings indicate that 80% of SRR communities rely on groundwater, while boil water advisory was the most frequent form of advisory, occurring at a rate 2.5 times higher in Indigenous communities than the national average. In terms of the implementation of source water protection plan (SWPP) to address water security in SRR communities, this study highlights the gaps in regulatory frameworks, policy fragmentations, insufficient resources, roles and responsibilities within water organizations, and lack of collaborative efforts as the key limitations. A five-stage source-to-tap multi-barrier SWPP approach was proposed to address existing gaps by incorporating Indigenous cultural practices, community-based water initiatives, refined decision-making processes, and local capacity empowerment for sustainable water security solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Environmental Reviews is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: The status of water security in small, rural, and remote communities in Canada: a review.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+security%22">Water security</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wellhead+protection%22">Wellhead protection</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Groundwater%22">Groundwater</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+health%22">Public health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Indigenous+peoples%22">Indigenous peoples</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Countries%22">Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rural+conditions%22">Rural conditions</searchLink>
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  Data: Water security in small, rural, and remote (SRR) communities in Canada is a critical issue with far-reaching implications for public health, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Comprising over 70% of the SRR population in Canada, Indigenous communities are 90 times more at risk of having unclean water as compared to non-Indigenous communities. A multifaceted review of water security in SRR communities was conducted in this study, focusing on different source water types, contamination sources and their distributions across provinces, the associated health and environmental risks, and the annual trends and causes of water advisories. Findings indicate that 80% of SRR communities rely on groundwater, while boil water advisory was the most frequent form of advisory, occurring at a rate 2.5 times higher in Indigenous communities than the national average. In terms of the implementation of source water protection plan (SWPP) to address water security in SRR communities, this study highlights the gaps in regulatory frameworks, policy fragmentations, insufficient resources, roles and responsibilities within water organizations, and lack of collaborative efforts as the key limitations. A five-stage source-to-tap multi-barrier SWPP approach was proposed to address existing gaps by incorporating Indigenous cultural practices, community-based water initiatives, refined decision-making processes, and local capacity empowerment for sustainable water security solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Environmental Reviews is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1139/er-2025-0186
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 22
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Water security
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Wellhead protection
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Groundwater
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public health
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Indigenous peoples
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Rural conditions
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Canada
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The status of water security in small, rural, and remote communities in Canada: a review.
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            NameFull: Nasimi, Sorour
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            NameFull: Dorosti, Mostafa
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            NameFull: Hu, Guangji
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            NameFull: Li, Zoe
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            NameFull: Sadiq, Rehan
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          Dates:
            – D: 27
              M: 04
              Text: 4/27/2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 34
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            – TitleFull: Environmental Reviews
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