Small Drinking Water Systems
Program Overview
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Public Health Protection and Prevention Branch
Environmental Health Section
March 2010
Outline
• Context of transfer of small drinking water
systems
• Overview of the program
• Ongoing ministry support of public health units
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Report of the Walkerton Inquiry, 2002
“While it is not possible to utterly remove all risk
from a water system, the recommendations’
overall goal is to ensure that Ontario’s drinking
water systems deliver water with a level of risk
so negligible that a reasonable and informed
person would feel safe drinking the water”
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The Public Health Approach
• Under the new risk-based approach, public health inspectors will
conduct a site-specific risk assessment on every small drinking
water system in the province
• Based on the assessment, they will determine what owners and
operators must do to keep their drinking water safe…..
• This reflects a customized approach for each small drinking
water system depending on the level of risk, rather than “onesize-fits-all “ requirements
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SDWS Program
Response to AWQI
• Lab responsible for contacting operator, PHU and
MOHLTC
• PHI responds to AWQI
• LRMA will collect AWQI information
Directive Issued
AWQI
• Identify the system
• Ensure it is under O.Reg.318/08
• Gather information about the system
• Issue a SDWS ID#
Identification
• Operator submits regulatory samples to lab
• Operator required to submit at a frequency based
on directive
• Sample results uploaded to LRMA by private lab
Site Specific
Risk
Assessment
Sampling
Requirement
• Required for each system
• Results in a risk category and issuing a directive
• Directives will include site specific requirements
Ongoing Monitoring
• PHI to monitor sampling requirements through LRMA
• PHI follow up with non-compliant owner/operators
Compliance
Monitoring
Other
Inspections
Outreach and
Building Inventory
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• May be completed as a result of an AWQI, compliance
issue, complaint or other reason
• May result in a corrective action, directive or in providing
information to the operator.
Types of drinking water systems
included in the transfer?
• Non-municipal seasonal residential system that
• serve 6 or more private residences, or
• have 6 or more service connections, and
• operates with at least one annual 60 consecutive
day gap within a calendar year
• Examples include seasonal trailer parks, campgrounds,
recreational camps
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Types of drinking water systems
included in the transfer?
• Municipally owned sports facilities, parks, arenas, recreation
centres
• Privately owned resorts, marinas, churches, mosques
• Food service premises
• Places that operate primarily for the purpose of providing
overnight accommodations to the traveling public such as
motels, hotels, etc.
• Where a service club or fraternal organization meets on a regular
basis
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General Requirements of Small
Drinking Water Systems Reg’s
Notification of intention to supply water
Designating an operator
Sampling and testing
Treatment
Response to adverse test results and observations
Directives
Request for review
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Site Specific Risk Assessments
• Observations of the system components, equipment, distribution
system, the site and the surrounding property
• Reviewing documentation pertaining to the system such as
owner’s manuals for equipment and well records.
• Interviewing the owner / operator to determine experience and
competencies in operating the small drinking water system
• Reviewing historical water sample test results if available
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Assessment using the
Risk Categorization tool
RCat applies a general questionnaire to determine the risk
category of a small drinking water system:
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Part 1 – General Information
Part 2 – Source
Part 3 – Treatment
Part 4 – Distribution
Part 5 – Flow Diagram
Part 6 – Grading System (Risk Category Main points and grading chart)
RCat and Risk Categorization
Grade for Source and
Treatment Criteria
Risk Category for Small Drinking
Water System
.
•High = Significant level of risk
•Medium = Moderate level of risk
•Low = Negligible level of risk
A
Grade for
Distribution
Criteria
a
b
c
d
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B
√
C
D
Directive issued after completion
of a site specific assessment
• The directive is legally binding on the owner of the small drinking
water system as well as any subsequent owner
• Provides requirements for the safe operation of the drinking
water system (sampling, treatment, operator training, etc)
• The directive is in force for as long as the small drinking water
system is in operation
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Monitoring Compliance
• Reviewing water sampling test results submitted to commercial
laboratories
• Lab results are uploaded into the Laboratory Results
Management Application (LRMA) where they are monitored by
the PHI
• Response to adverse water quality incidents, complaints,
inquiries
• Integration with other responsibilities of the PHI
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Ministry Support
• Develop and maintain the regulations, standards,
protocols and guidance documents for the consistent
delivery of the program
• Resource manual complete with all business processes,
regulations, fact sheets, short-form wording, etc.
• Fact sheets for owner/operators available on ministry
website
13
Ministry Support
IT systems support
• The Risk categorization tool (RCat)
• Laboratory Results Management Application (LRMA)
Provide ongoing program and technical training
14
Ministry Support
• Technical consulting firm available to PHI’s by
phone, e-mail, portal.
• Monthly teleconferences with PHI’s
• Self learning modules and SME’s in the field
proposed
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Drinking Water Ontario
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Contact / Questions
Tony Amalfa, B.Sc., C.P.H.I.(C)
Manager, Environmental Health
Public Health Protection and Prevention Branch
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Public Health Division
5700 Yonge Street, 2nd Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M2M 4K5
Tel: (416) 327-7624
Email: Tony.Amalfa@ontario.ca
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