RECOMMENDATION:
THAT
the Annual (2005) Summary Report to Council as required by Schedule 22
of Ontario Regulation 170/03 enclosed herein be received.
THAT
the Annual (2005) Regulatory Report to MOE (Attachment “A”) comprised of Parts I, II & III-Form 2,
III-Form 6 for the Ministry of the Environment on water supply and quality as
required by Section 11 of Ontario Regulation 170/03 be received.
THAT
Council directs staff to post the Annual (2005) Regulatory Report to MOE
on the Towns website and that it be made available and provided to residents upon
request in hard copy version.
AND THAT the Annual (2005) Customer
Water Quality Report (Attachment “B”)
be received. This report to be made available on the Town’s website by mid
March. It is also to be included in a later mass mailing to residents on April 1, 2006 (with the Green Mission newsletter).
PURPOSE:
To provide to Council the Annual
(2005) Summary Report to Council as required under Ontario Regulation
170/03 Schedule 22. Report enclosed herein.
To report to Council on
the Annual (2005) Regulatory Report to MOE. The MOE report was submitted
to the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) on February 23, 2006 in accordance with the regulatory requirements
(Section 11 of O. Reg. 170/03) and is included as Attachment “A” to this
report.
To provide to Council the Annual
(2005) Customer Water Quality Report included as Attachment “B” to this
report.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
In order to meet Regulatory requirements and to
strengthen customer confidence in the Town’s drinking water quality supply,
waterworks has prepared three annual update reports on the status of drinking water
quality in Markham as described below.
The Annual (2005) Summary
Report to Council, enclosed herein, is intended to inform Council on the performance
of the Water Distribution System in the past year and to provide information on
Markham Water Distribution System’s meeting of Ontario Regulation 170/03 requirements.
The regulation requires that this report be submitted to Council prior to March 31, 2006.
The Annual (2005)
Regulatory Report to MOE is a technical and statistical document submitted
in MOE format summarizing the existing
water distribution system, results of tests, corrective actions and any major
expenses. The Markham report will be submitted to the MOE on February 23, 2006 and meets regulation requirements. The Regulation
also requires that this report be made available to the public free of charge in
hard copy and be posted on the Town of Markham’s website. An explanatory
page is being added by Waterworks to both the website and
hard copy as an introduction and enhancement to the content found in the
detailed report.
The Annual
(2005) Customer Waterworks Water Quality Report is also submitted for the March 6, 2006, General Committee Meeting and is a more user-friendly version
of the MOE Report updating residents on the water system’s status. It highlights
water quality, 2005 Waterworks accomplishments, as well as
initiatives for 2006. Links to both the MOE Annual Report and the Customer Waterworks Water Quality Report will
be provided on the Town’s website.
1. Annual Summary Report to Council
(Ontario
Regulation 170/03 Schedule 22):
The
Annual Summary Report to Council as required by Ontario Regulation 170/03
Schedule 22 is due February 28, 2006 covering system information with respect to the
preceding calendar year. The MOE has not inspected the Town of Markham system as yet for the 2005 operational period.
System
Information:
The Town of Markham system is strictly
a distribution system. We do not operate any treatment plants under our
jurisdiction and therefore the rated capacity of our system as requested by the
MOE is not applicable. The Region of York receives treated water from the
City of Toronto, stores and feeds
it to various municipalities including Markham through trunk
watermains. The Town of Markham purchases water
entirely from the Region of York and it is delivered to the system at various
supply points. The Town of Markham distributes this
water to its residents.
Water supplied during 2005:
The Town of Markham purchased
33,298,143 m3 of water over 365 days from the Region of York. This
amounts to a monthly average of 2,774,845 m3/month.
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Water Purchase from Region of York over
last 5 Years
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Ontario’s Drinking Water Systems Regulation (O.Reg.170/03)
requires all drinking water system owners to collect and test a minimum
prescribed number of representative water quality samples. It further requires
that drinking water system owners provide MOE with an annual report on the
operation and the quality of drinking water within their jurisdictional
boundaries. Markham Waterworks Department has complied with this requirement.
During the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005, the total number of water samples collected and
tested by Waterworks operators and sent to the York-Durham Regional
Environmental Laboratory (YDREL) for analysis was 10,082. These samples are
tested for the presence of bacteria (Fecal Coliform, Total Coliform, Background
Colony Count and Heterotrophic Plate Count) and for chemical analysis (Chlorine
residual, Trihalomethane, Lead, Nitrate & Nitrite, Sodium and Fluoride) as
required.
For
the calendar year January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005; an annual regulatory report will be sent to the MOE on February 23, 2006 on the Markham Water Distribution System and is
attached as Attachment “A”. In this report, we are detailing the ten (10)
adverse sampling results which are summarized below:
In 2005, there were 10 adverse water quality incidents
(out of 10,082 samples), 6 for the presence of bacteria and 4 for deficient
chlorine residual which did not meet the Ontario’s Drinking Water Systems
Regulation (O. Reg. 170/03) required parameters.
Of the 6 samples with adverse results for bacteria
testing; all six samples tested positive for total coliform. The detection of
coliform in water samples is considered to be a general indicator of water
quality. The HPC test is a method of measuring the aerobic bacterial content in
water. Markham’s past experience has been that the bacterial
presence in samples was a result of sample handling or insufficient preparation
of the sample at site. Upon being notified by YDREL that a given sample did not
meet the water quality regulations for bacteria, Waterworks operators notified the York Region Medical Officer of
Health (MOH) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), flushed the affected
parts of the water distribution system and re-sampled the water at the affected
sites as well as at upstream and downstream locations until satisfactory chlorine
residual results were achieved.
Of the 4 samples that had deficient chlorine residual
test results, notification was sent by Waterworks to both
the MOH and MOE. The system was then flushed until acceptable chlorine residual
was established and results were recorded. For more detailed information on
sampling results and water quality compliance, please refer to Attachment “A” -
Annual Regulatory Report for MOE.
In 2005, Waterworks optimized their dead end calibrated flushing program and installed
three automatic flushing stations. The optimized and targeted dead end flushing
program has reduced both flushing time and frequency of flushing visits hence
resulting in operational savings and a decreased number of adverse chorine
residual test results in 2005.
2.
Annual
Regulatory Report to MOE
(Ontario Regulation 170/03 Section 11):
The format for the Annual
Regulatory Report to MOE is established by the Ministry of the Environment and is
due February 28, 2006.
The detailed report is attached as Attachment “A” to this report and provides:
1. A brief description of the drinking water system.
2. A description of how the Annual Regulatory Report to
MOE has been distributed and where it will be located and made available to the
public.
3. A summary of water quality testing results for
microbiological, inorganic chemical, and organic chemical parameters.
4. A summary of adverse water quality reports.
5. Identification of the Laboratory that Markham is using for regulation testing.
The Town of Markham has met the Regulation 170/03 submission dates and
requirements of reporting.
3.
Waterworks
Customer Water Quality Report:
In order to strengthen
customer confidence in the quality of the Town’s water supply, Waterworks has prepared a customer report attached as Attachment
“B” to this report. It is designed to be mailed to Markham customers (written in user friendly format) and be
posted on the Town’s website. This report will highlight water quality as well
as distribution system initiatives supporting water quality. Included is a
summary of regulatory sampling activity, capital programs, information
management, and quality assurance initiatives which ensure delivery and supply
of high water quality to our customers.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment “A”—Annual (2005) Regulatory
Report for MOE
Attachment “B”—Annual (2005) Customer
Water Quality Report
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Jerry Klaus, C.E.T., C.M.M.
General
Manager, Waterworks Division
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Peter Loukes, P. Eng.
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___________________________________
Jim
Sales
Commissioner
of Community and Fire
Services
Q:\Commission
Share\Operations and Asset Management\Reports\2006\Waterworks\Annual (2005) Water
Quality Council Report Submission.doc
