Co-development of a risk assessment tool for use in First Nations water supply systems: A key step to water safety plan implementation

Despite several years of targeted interventions, First Nations drinking water systems in Canada remain under-resourced and require substantial improvements in both infrastructure and management to provide communities with safe drinking water. The purpose of this study was to co-develop a risk assessment process integral to the water safety planning methodology to determine if proactive risk assessment provides a beneficial management tool for First Nations water systems. We co-developed a risk assessment web-application with First Nations stakeholders to identify hazards and assess risk in six Atlantic region First Nations communities. Using this application, we were able to successfully identify high-risk hazards in each community, both risks specific to individual systems, and risks common at a regional level. Through semi-structured interviews we identified the following benefits of a risk assessment web application: increased communication, data ownership and centralized data management. However, challenges remain, including current fragmented governance realities, and liability concerns associated with adopting a new risk management strategy. Successful adoption of proactive risk management strategies in First Nations communities will depend on strong co-development of risk assessment tools, transparent communication between stakeholders and clearly defined data ownership and management practices.