Since 2023, the Canadian Shield Consultants Agency has participated in a committee uniting Indigenous communities in Mexico and Canada to enhance water resilience. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) awarded $200,000 to Canadian and Mexican organizations to advance water resilience through innovative rainwater harvesting techniques. The project, named One Water, fosters collaboration between the Nipissing First Nation and three Indigenous communities in Mexico: the Wixárika (Jalisco), Mazateca (Oaxaca), and Rarámuri (Chihuahua). The initiative is a joint effort by Isla Urbana, Canadian Shield Consultants, and the University of Toronto’s Center for Global Engineering.
Background
Access to safe drinking water has been a longstanding challenge for Indigenous communities in Canada, due to factors such as inadequate
infrastructure, water source pollution, and insufficient training for personnel. Climate change exacerbates these difficulties by disrupting the water cycle and fostering conditions for threats like blue-green algae blooms. Moreover, extreme weather events increase the risk of infrastructure failures, such as power outages.
Goals
The One Water project seeks to:
1. Enhance water availability and infrastructure resilience for First Nation communities in Ontario through rainwater harvesting (RWH).
2. Build local expertise and capacity for implementing RWH.
3. Promote wider adoption of RWH among Ontario’s First Nation communities.
4. Strengthen international and interdisciplinary partnerships on water resilience strategies across North America.
Recent Progress: Installation at Nbisiing Secondary School
In 2024, a rainwater harvesting system was installed at Nbisiing Secondary School, located at 469 Couchie Memorial Dr., North Bay, Ontario. This
project was a partnership with Water Farmers, a Guelph-based organization specializing in RWH. Following a site visit, Water Farmers identified the
school’s strong potential for rainwater collection. They conducted detailed calculations, designed an underground collection tank for year-round storage, and completed the system installation.
