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Page 26, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, Deoember 28,1994 Exerts say concems abotdikn ae agl none ByMartha Godman There were five cities in Ontario in the mid-l19th ceéntury: Toronto, Hamilton, K(ingston, London and' Ottawa. (At that time a community with more than 15,000 people was considered a city.) Most of the reidents depended on wells for their water supply. Today's modern city dweller would think that our ancestors were blessed with an abundance of fresh-tasting, uncontaminated water, but sadly this was not the case. As recently as 1912, more than 1,300 people died in the city of Ottawa from typhoid fever -- an iliness from a bacteria called salmonella typhosa. 'lYphoid swept through Ottawa twice between 1911 and 1913. Ini April of 1993, thousanda of Milwaukee residents suffered from an outbreak Of ciptosporidioais, a gastro- intestinal iliness caused by a paraste. The symptoms included severe crarnping and diarrhea, sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting. There have been numerous other cases reported in the Harvard Health Letter. Our drinkIng water comes from freahwater lakea, underground reservoirs and streanis. Many artificial or natural-occurring substances found in the environinent, some of which can be devastating te humnans, eventually make their way into our raw water supply. The ways water becomes polluted are countlesa. Bain washes pesticides and other pollutants from the air, the streets, farmers' fields and front lawns into our lakes and rivera. Water can aiso be contaminater- by leaking underground sturage tanks, hazardous waste dumping and septic tanks. Based on information provided b the environnient ministry, it Dhould be noted that no toxie chemnical compounds such as dioxin and furans have been found in saznples of finished drinking water anywhere in Ontario. Man, however, is not responaible for ail contamination of our water. Substances that make water unfit for drinking, such as iron, cadmium sud arsenic, occur naturally, and our drinking water must be carefully treated te reniove contaminants before it is piped te our kitchens. Durham Region operates 14 water supply systema. Five of these (Whitby, Oshawa, Newcastle, Bowmanville and Ajax) are supplied with raw water from Lake Ontario. One plant draws water from Lake Simcoe, and the remaining eight systems are weII-baaed supplies sud rely on a grendwater source. Methods of water treatment vary between sites and are based on the origin of the raw water. Treatment of the weil-based systeme consista of chîcrine addition at all locations, sud addition of a sequestering agent is required at some sites for iron control. Treatment stops at the surface water supply plants are as follows: Chlorination: Used at ail six plants Coagulation: Used at all six plants Flocculation: Used at ail six plants Filtration: Used at aIl six planta Sedimentation: Available only at Ajax and Oshawa Fluoridation: Available at Ajax, Oshawa sud VWhitby pH Control: Not available Chloramination: Net available. Drinkcing water is regularly tested by municipal water treatmnent plants. Each year in Durhamn Region more than 5,000 separate water samples are taken and analyzed te, ensure bacterial quality, advises Bernie P. Kualikis, plant operationa manager, of the Region's works department. Kualikis aise says that tilthough there are ne tests conducted in the province for the protozoan cryptosporidium, there is ne reason for the public te be alarnied. Me adds that Durham Region is fortunate te have acoeas te, Lake Ontario, a high-quality raw water supply, and the treatment L rocesses used in Durham Rgion's surface water supply plants,. specifically fiocculation, coagulation sud dual media filtration, wiIl ensure that any parasites.- including crypto- sporidium are effectively removed. For Durham Region residents who have concerna regarding the consumption of trihalomethanes (THMs), chemical compounds resulting from the chlorination process, there are ways te, deal. with this worr: 1. Store the water in the refrigerater for 24 hours before drinIdng, OR 2. Boil the water for at least five minutes, OR 3. Aerate the water in a blender prior te use. OR 4. Instail a water treatmenti filtration device and follow the manufacturer's operating instructions carefully. As far as the experts who test Our water are concerned, it is extremely safe to drink. In 1991 the Canadian Medical Association Iooked at surveys, studies sud Health Canada information sud concluded that any concerns Canadians have about drining water were largely unfounded. 0f course, there are always others who will argue that there is a lot that we do flot yet know because our eisting technology does net ailow us te detect al pollutants. KNIGHTS 0F COLUMBUS past grand knight Martin Turpin (right) presents Doug MacLean with the 'family of the year' award. Doug, his wife Lexie and family, were honoured for servin "as an inspiration" to thetparish, community and ouclby "supporting and strenthening Christian family Photo by Mark Resac Whltby Fre Press THE REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY 0F DURHAM Works Department HOLIDAY CLOSURE 0F TRANSFER AND RECYCLING SITES The Oshawa, Cartwright and Sougog Tarsfer and Recyciing Sites wilI be closed Frklay, Docember 23, 1994 rat 12:00 mon and wiII resumo operations on Wednesday, Decomber 28, 1994 at regular hours. Closed Docember 30, 1994 at 12:00 noon and resumoe oporations on Tuesday, January 3, 1995 at regular hours. VA. SILGAILIS P ENG COMMISSIONER Ã"FWOÃŽRKS The Regional Municipality of Durham Winter Sludge Management Class Environmental Assessment Notice of Information Meeting The Region, in consultation with a Public Consultation Working Committee, has just completed the selection of the preferred site for the proposed Sludge Storage Facility. The selected site is located to the west of the existing Corbett Creek WPCP site in the Town of Whitby. YOU ARE INVITED: At the request of some local residents and business owners in the preferred site area *who attended the first Phase 3 Public Consultation Working Committee meeting on December 14, 1994, we are holding an information meeting. At this meeting the site selection process will be presented including the environmental factors considered and the evaluation criteria utilized in the site selection. The meeting wiIl be held as follows: Date: January 12, 1995 Time: 6:30 p.m. Location: The Regal Room Centennial Community Centre 416 Centre Street South Whitby, Ontario