Another Mohawk territory, Kanesatake (near Oka, Ontario), has also experienced E.coli contamination in two households. Similar to Tuscarora, many of the Mohawks at Kanesatake depend on well water as their only source of drinking water. The problem has been linked to contamination trickling into the piping of wells that lie in low areas and tend to collect run-off. Upon discovery of the contamination, workers extended the pipe heads and disinfected individual wells. Kanasatake wells are tested for iron, flourides, nitrates, lead, sodium and other analytes on an annual basis.  

  Near the center of the Confederacy, the Onondaga Nation has been encountering bacterial contamination of drinking water supplies for nearly five years, according to recent Onondaga County Health Department study. The public water system at Onondaga was installed in 1908 by the Allied Chemical Corporation. The system utilizes an underground spring which is reserved in a concrete underground collection well and services 100 Onondaga homes. E. coli bacteria has been found in the community water system four times in the past four and a half years.

The hamlet of Versailles, a small community near Perrysburg, New York is also experiencing E.coli contaminated water. Versailles is a small community of about sixty homes bordered by the Seneca Nation of Indians’ Cattaraugus reservation. The people in this community also depend on well water as their source of drinking water  A Cattaragus County Health Department sanitary survey of septic systems and drinking water wells found alarming results. Coliform bacteria was found present in 75% of the wells tested. One-third of those tested also were found to have E.coli present.  The residents of Versailles have been notified to stop consumption of their water without proper disinfection or to purchase bottled water. Proposed remedies include creating a public water district and installing municipal water mains. A public water line lies 800 ft from the project site that supplies water to the Seneca Nation from the Erie County Water Authority. The town board is investigating the costs of the construction, operation, and maintenance of a project that would extend this line.

  Some solutions to supplying the public with clean drinking water can also affect people in many different ways.  In Jack's Reef, New York, the well water is pungent and red-tinged. The construction of a 1.6 million-dollar water line would bring the residents potable water from Otisco Lake. The problem is not how to supply clean water to Jack's Reef residents, but the impacts of installing a nine-mile long water pipeline through central New York. The water line will run directly through known burial spots of the Onondaga people.  Negotiations and planning are underway between the contractor and Onondaga. 

  There are preventative measures to ensuring that you keep your water contaminant free. A routine inspection of the well casing is very important.  Ensure that there are no cracks in the casing and there is proper drainage away from the well. Cover your well with a proper cap and keep any pets away from the well. Septic systems are usually the first source of contamination long before other contaminates.  A septic system should be properly installed and the septic box pumped out at least every 3-5 years.  •