By Staff
March 30, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Drinking Water Systems Flow Summary Report for 2015 that Regional Council was given earlier this month said that all 11 of Halton’s water systems achieved scores of 100 per cent on inspections conducted by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in 2015.
“Regular monitoring of our drinking water protects public health and ensures public
confidence in our water supply,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “Keeping our
drinking water safe is a shared responsibility and our ReThink Water program
encourages residents to enjoy our high-quality water and be aware of how to protect
our source water resources.”
This summary report on Halton’s municipal drinking water systems is prepared and
provided to Council annually to address regulatory requirements as set out by the
Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002. Halton operates 11 drinking water systems governed by
four municipal drinking water licenses, all of which achieved scores of 100 per cent on inspections conducted by the Ministry in 2015. Inspectors did not note any
regulatory compliance issues related to water quality over the past year.
Halton’s highly-qualified and licensed employees perform regular testing to make sure the Region’s water supply consistently meets or exceeds provincial
water-quality standards. From time to time, we are aware that residents are approached by sales people claiming that Halton’s water in unsafe to drink and that
they should purchase water filtration equipment.
However, residents should be confident that their drinking water is of the highest quality and no additional
filtration systems are needed in their homes.
I went and looked at the Halton Flow Summary Report that is the subject of this story.
THere is no reference or data at all in this report on the quality and measurements of said quality, of the water.
What is really described are the flows of water for each plant.
Also described are the processes used to treat the water prior to delivery to the distribution system.
There is no data in this report on the water quality measurements found.
That is supposed to be in another report, the Water Quality Report.
So my point made initially is entirely correct. Safety at the tap is not in this report.
In my view, the Gazette staff that filed this story didn’t even read the report, but rather just uncritically copied the Halton Region press release and background statement, and used it as the story.
Water quality at input to distribution is not covered in this report, and neither is quality at the tap, which was the point of my comment.
I suggest that the Gazette post a corrective story to explain to readers the discrepancy.
Ironic that the accompanying photo appears to show bottled water! A photo showing someone drinking tap water from a reusable water bottle would have been more appropriate!
We don’t need another pier – we didn’t even need the first one which was a boondoggle from the get-go if ever there was one. Burlington would be better served by putting the infrastructure money into green projects like better cycling lanes/tracks, public transit, parks and trees etc. or whatever is eligible for the funding in similar categories. Job creation for its own sake, without a justifiable, useful outcome, is wasting taxpayers’ money.
The Gazette did not just tell people of the report, they told people the following; “However, residents should be confident that their drinking water is of the highest quality and no additional
filtration systems are needed in their homes.”
What I am asking is that the Gazette finish the job and justify their statement of confidence, and be certain that my question is part of the report, which I doubt.
This is not spoon feeding, but responsible fact-checking. It shouldn’t take much time for the Gazette to find out from the report if it’s the treatment plant delivery quality being measured, or delivered tap quality.
Intelligent or not, if you are going to tell people something, make sure it’s complete and correct.
It seems that your response is that everyone is on their own to find this out.
It’s important to know, and confirm at the Region, if these water quality results are at the tap, the points of final delivery for all uses, or just at the treatment plant feeds to the distribution system.
Given all the lead in water at the tap concerns in the US lately, it is important that we know.
Are these contaminant levels included in the report referred to?
It is important for Regional Chair Carr to find out if this is the case, and be careful what he says so as to tell the whole story, and be certain.
Between the treatment plant, through the myriad pipes of the distribution system to the taps, there are many potential sources of re-contamination, including the entry of lead, copper, plastics, plastic additives, aluminum flocculant residuals, flame retardants, microbial regrowth from residuals and biofilms, and so on.
I would like to see a report on the levels of such contaminants that are in the water supply delivered to our homes and taps.
I ask the Gazette to follow this up because of the information they have posted here, and their apparent certainty about it.
The Gazette has this responsibility to ask the Region to clarify this question and concern.
Editor’s note: The Gazette did its job by telling you of the report. The document is on the Region’s web sit where anyone can read it. Spoon feeding intelligent people is not our purpose.