Corinne J. Schuster-Wallace

Maternal health and clean water and sanitation access have been recognised by the United Nations as essential under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). SDG Goal 3 target 3.1 strives to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. SDG goal 6 strives for “clean water and sanitation for all”, with targets 6.1, 6.2, and 6.B specifically aimed to improve WASH. Sepsis is a major concern in maternal and post-partum health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported in 2015 that the risks associated with sepsis were 34 times greater in low-resource settings. Furthermore, mothers were less likely to give birth in a medical facility in communities where access to WASH is limited (WHO & UNICEF, 2015).The relationship between WASH practices, maternal health, and sepsis is recognised as significant. Yet existing literature has not analysed the extent to which WASH access, or its individual components, impacts rates of maternal sepsis. Additionally, the literature has not identified whether socio-economic characteristics in pregnant or post-partum people influence their vulnerability to WASH-related infections. With these gaps in knowledge, appropriate resources and treatment or preventive policies cannot be effectively implemented to decrease maternal sepsis.

In Canada, First Nations (FN) are the largest of three Indigenous groups who have occupied and lived on the land for thousands of years. With a current population of about 1.1 million, universal access to safe drinking water remains a persistent problem, with advisories a norm rather than an exception in many FN communities. This study examines the Federal Government's approach to resolving the issues of long-term drinking water advisories (LTDWAs) across FN Reserves in Canada. The objective was to determine the acknowledgment and application of FN water principles and values within the federal LTDWA intervention framework. Financial and technical capacity was also explored. Results indicate that the Federal Government's approach to eradicating LTDWA in FN focuses on infrastructure technologies, overlooking other aspects of sustainable water supply, such as advanced source water protection. As such, it overlooked (1) FN water management principles and values; (2) FN strength and capacity to manage their water; and (3) First Nations’ right to self-determination. It is argued that the poor attention to FN water principles and values, including the failure to address the issues of financial and technological capacity, undermines FN rights to self-determination and contributes to the continuous presence of LTDWAs in communities.

Water is essential for life. Water-related challenges, such as droughts, floods, water quality degradation, permafrost thaw and glacier melt, exacerbated by climate change, affect everyone. It is challenging, yet of critical importance, to communicate science on such difficult highly volatile topics. Art is a more approachable medium to traditional scientific outlets, with the potential to diversify voices at the table and to lead to more wholistic solutions to these complex challenges. Launched in 2020, the Virtual Water Gallery is a transdisciplinary science and art project of the Global Water Futures program, that aims to provide a collaborative space for dialogues between water experts, artists, and the wider public, to explore water challenges we all face. As part of this initiative, a diverse group of 14 artists or sci-artists from across Canada were paired with teams of Global Water Futures scientists to co-explore specific water challenges in various Canadian ecoregions and communities. These collaborations led to the co-creation of artworks exhibited online on the Virtual Water Gallery in 2021. In 2022, the Virtual Water Gallery came to life with an in-person exhibit in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Surveys were developed to capture changes in knowledge, attitudes and water-related climate mitigation practices of visitors to this science and art online and in-person exhibit. Surveys were also developed to capture experiences of the project participants. Results from the survey responses of 139 visitors hint to the significance of art in changing knowledge levels and intended behaviours related to water-related climate change mitigation, especially for visitors with low prior knowledge levels. This underscores the potential of science and art to extend beyond communication, acting as a catalyst in the collaborative creation of new knowledge for the benefit of society. The insights gained from project participant responses can serve as valuable guidance for shaping future initiatives.

Risk of waterborne diseases (WBDs) persists in temperate regions. The extent of influence of climate-related factors on the risk of specific WBDs in a changing climate and the projections of future climate scenarios on WBDs in temperate regions are unclear. A systematic review was conducted to identify specific waterborne pathogens and diseases prevalent in temperate region literature and transmission cycle associations with a changing climate. Projections of WBD risk based on future climate scenarios and models used to assess future disease risk were identified. Seventy-five peer-reviewed full-text articles for temperate regions published in the English language were included in this review after a search of Scopus and Web of Science databases from 2010 to 2023. Using thematic analysis, climate-related drivers impacting WBD risk were identified. Risk of WBDs was influenced mostly by weather (rainfall: 22% and heavy rainfall: 19%) across the majority of temperate regions and hydrological (streamflow: 50%) factors in Europe. Future climate scenarios suggest that WBD risk is likely to increase in temperate regions. Given the need to understand changes and potential feedback across fate, transport and exposure pathways, more studies should combine data-driven and process-based models to better assess future risks using model simulations.