Freshwater Biodiversity Toolbox

Source Water Protection

Source water is the water used to supply drinking water to the public which can come from sources like rivers, reservoirs, groundwater and more. It is important to protect source water for both human consumption as well as for the organisms that rely on that water. Protecting source water is mainly focused on maintaining and improving water quality and quantities. Pollution is a main source of damage to water quality and is therefore a main focus when protecting the water sources. Pollution comes in many forms so ensuring protection and reduction of all of the different forms is necessary when protecting water quality. The protection of sources of water can focus on methods like riparian buffers, reducing sedimentation, protecting land and reducing runoff in efforts to lower the impacts of both natural and anthropogenic effects on source water.

Rating:
Marshall et al. (2018) received a mixed CEESAT score. This synthesis scored well (3/Green) in elements related to the search strategy, eligibility criteria, methodology, and outlining limitations. Authors did not conduct a critical appraisal and did not provide sufficient detail regarding review conduct, sources used, or extracted results. Marshall et al. (2018) a Gold score in every RASCAT element except with regards to demonstrating consideration of implications, practical advice, or recommendations for decision-makers.

Marshall, R.E., Levison, J.K., McBean, E.A., Brown, E., & Harper, S.L. (2018)

Source water protection programs and Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States: A scoping review

Title: Source water protection programs and Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States: A scoping review

Authors: Marshall, R.E., Levison, J.K., McBean, E.A., Brown, E., & Harper, S.L.

Journal: Journal of Hydrology

Year: 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.04.070

Species or groups: NA

Other sources of evidence: NA

Abstract: The implementation of source water protection programs is relatively recent in Canada and the United States. Although protecting water at the watershed scale has been a focus of many of these programs, few Indigenous communities located within these watersheds are involved in the process. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine and map the extent, range, and nature of the published peer-reviewed literature on the adoption, implementation, and outcomes of source water protection programs involving Indigenous populations in Canada and the United States. This review followed a systematic process to identify and evaluate the literature. Searches were conducted in three aggregator databases (Web of Science™, ProQuest®, and GreenFILE™). Two independent reviewers conducted a systematic two-stage screening process using inclusion and exclusion criteria in the software DistillerSR©. Articles that met inclusion criteria were analyzed using thematic qualitative and descriptive quantitative methods. The findings indicate that: a) there is a lack of peer-reviewed studies focusing on the ecological outcomes of source water protection programs that are inclusive of Indigenous populations in Canada and the United States; b) the depth to which the literature describes Indigenous involvement in source water protection programs is minimal; and c) Indigenous involvement in source water protection programs is generally not reported as substantial. This review provides several recommendations to improve both the peerreviewed literature on the topic and source water protection programs. There is a need to improve reporting in the literature on quantitative program results, the nature of Indigenous involvement in source water protection programs, and Indigenous-inclusive inter-jurisdictional success stories. It is also recommended that source water protection programs recognize Indigenous peoples as more than stakeholders groups, and that future studies pull from innovations in other fields to address complex problems and provide new insights to the field of source water protection. The methodology presented in this paper provides a template for researchers in engineering and environmental fields, such as hydrology, to identify and review published literature in a systematic, transparent, and rigorous manner.

Freshwater Biodiversity Toolbox

Source Water Protection

Marshall, R.E., Levison, J.K., McBean, E.A., Brown, E., & Harper, S.L. (2018)

Assessment of reliability and robustness (CEESAT)

Assessment of relevance to Canada (RASCAT)

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