Jonathan Riberdy’s passion is providing safe drinking water for Zhiibaahaasing First Nation in Ontario.
The community has been under a boil advisory since 1991. “The day I can turn on my tap and drink out of it will be the happiest day of my life,” Riberdy says. “I’ll probably cry.”The boil advisory exists because unlike most communities, Zhiibaahaasing First Nation, on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, does not have sophisticated water treatment and underground distribution. Water is delivered by truck to residents’ cisterns, creating the risk of contamination.As water plant manager and overall responsible operator, Riberdy has been working for nine
