(Session) Water Quality in Newfoundland

Hear Dr. Atunu Sarkar, Arifur Rahman and Kalen Thomson talk about their research on well water and testing. There are over 40,000 wells in Newfoundland and Labrador servicing approximately one-fifth of the total population. However, these wells fall outside the mandate of government’s routine testing regimes, and monitoring is the sole responsibility of the individual owner. Most of these wells are located in remote rural areas, and there is no affordable laboratory facility in the province for water quality testing of these wells. Furthermore, the Aboriginal communities encounter serious water quality problems. However, little is known about complex socio-economic and cultural dynamics of water insecurities in Aboriginal communities. This Synergy Session examines the vulnerability of the Aboriginal communities in Black Tickle (Labrador) and explores potential business models to establish a lab to serve communities in a sustainable manner.