A half-century of dirty water is in the past for Cape Breton’s smallest Mi’kmaw community, but the fear and distrust remain, keeping some residents from drinking the water. A half-century of dirty water is in the past for Cape Breton’s smallest Mi’kmaw community, but the fear and distrust remain, keeping some residents from drinking the water. “I know a lot of people still don’t trust it – they’re still scared of it, and I don’t blame them. It’s been since 1972, 1974 that we’ve had ongoing problems with the water,” said long-time Potlotek chief, Wilbert Marshall. A new, state-of-the-art water treatment facility was built in 2019 aimed at eliminating the issues with excess iron and magnesium in the water supply.