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| Minister Dan Newman |
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| Minister Dan Newman |
Following the Walkerton tragedy, the Ontario government announced a new drinking water regulation, August 8, which will become part of the Ontario Water Resources Act. It puts into law the Ontario Drinking Water Standards (formerly the Ontario Drinking Water Objectives), which have been updated and strengthened to reflect the most current expertise and procedures in drinking water protection.
Other measures under Operation Clean Water include the inspection of all municipal waterworks to ensure they comply fully with laws intended to protect public health. These inspections are already underway, and will be conducted annually from now on.
Drinking Water Protection Regulation
Under the new regulation, waterworks in Ontario will have to follow strict rules to protect drinking water quality. This applies to all waterworks that:
The major requirements for these waterworks are:
Sampling and testing
The Drinking Water Protection Regulation contains comprehensive requirements for the sampling and testing of drinking water. Waterworks must take regular and frequent samples of their treated water and have the samples tested for microbiological parameters (e.g., total coliforms, fecal coliforms/E. coli), chlorine residuals, turbidity, volatile organics (e.g., benzene, carbon tetrachloride) and other health-related parameters (e.g., lead, arsenic).
Tests for health-related parameters must be conducted by a laboratory that is accredited to perform these tests. Tests for operational parameters can be performed by licensed operators at the waterworks. Laboratories are also required to provide the Ministry of the Environment with analytical data.
Minimum level of treatment
Disinfection of water to eliminate disease-causing organisms is the most important step in the drinking water treatment process. As of December 31, 2002, all drinking water that enters a water distribution system or plumbing must be disinfected through chlorination or an equivalent process that persists as effectively as chlorination in the distribution system or plumbing. This is consistent with the most stringent practices in other parts of the world.
Disinfection is the minimum treatment for drinking water from a groundwater source. An exemption from this requirement will only be considered if a waterworks meets certain rigorous conditions. These include approval from the local municipal council (for municipal waterworks only), approval from the Medical Officer of Health, two years of exemplary water quality test results, public meetings and installation of stand-by equipment in case disinfection is required.
The minimum treatment for drinking water from a surface water source is chemically assisted filtration and disinfection, or an equivalent treatment process. There are no exemptions. Waterworks must have an approved treatment process in place by December 31, 2002.
Accreditation of laboratories
All laboratories that test drinking water must be accredited for the tests they perform by the Standards Council of Canada or its equivalent. Accreditation involves performance testing and auditing to ensure that laboratories follow appropriate procedures using acceptable methods.
Upon gazetting of the regulation, waterworks must immediately begin to use accredited laboratories to test for microbiological parameters. If a waterworks changes the laboratory it is using, it must notify the Ministry of the Environment three days in advance, so that the ministry can follow up with the new lab to ensure it is fully aware of its role and obligations.
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