Halton Region awarded drinking water licence By Tim Foran METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP 5 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, July 23, 2009 Halton Region has become one of the first municipalities in Ontario to be awarded a drinking water licence from the Province's Ministry of the Environment (MOE). The MOE developed the licence as a new form of approval to owners of drinking water systems following recommendations issued by Justice O'Connor stemming from the Walkerton inquiry. The new licencing program builds on the original approval process, which looked at the design, construction and operation of water plants and distribution systems, by reviewing the operator's financial plans, employee accreditation and its system for ensuring ongoing improvement. According to the Province's recently released Chief Drinking Water Inspector's Annual Report (2007-08), all of Halton's water systems received inspection ratings of 100 per cent. These inspections consist of inspection of plant operations, logs and sampling protocol, said MOE spokesperson Kate Jordan. Not every one of the actual water quality tests done at Halton's various water purification plants and at public and privately-owned locations throughout its water distribution system came out perfectly clean the first time, according to Halton Region's water quality reports. However, the reports reveal that subsequent re-samples all passed. The majority of initial adverse samples took place in the distribution systems, not at the Region's plants. "In no way does this indicate you had an unsafe water supply," said Kiyoshi Oka, the Region's director of water services, noting an adverse sample could be as simple as a dust particle in the water. "We're more than confident the system is very safe." Jordan confirmed no provincial orders have been issued to Halton's plants and said re-sampling is a normal part of the water testing process. "The re-sampling and re-testing process helps to determine if the adverse result represents a widespread problem (ie. multiple or repeat adverse results across the system), or whether it is an anomaly," Jordan explained. "In either case, the regulation requires that two sets of re-samples (each set consisting of a sample taken at the same location as the adverse result was found plus upstream and downstream for a total of three samples) have negative or "clean" results before the problem can be considered resolved." The Region's water quality reports are available for viewing online at http://halton.ca/PPW/Water/DrinkingWater/Wa terQuality.htm. Are You Happy With Your Smile? Before After 10 porcelain veneers and Zoom!® whitening Where does your water come from? Halton's 450,000 residents get their drinking water from a variety of sources. The Region, not the local municipalities, is responsible for supplying such drinking water to those in urban-serviced areas without private wells. The vast majority of the population, essentially residents of Burlington, Oakville and the parts of Milton developed over the last decade, get their water from the Region's South Halton water distribution system. That system is supplied with treated water from the Burlington and Oakville Water Purification Plants (WPP). The Burloak WPP is expected to come online this year and start supplying the same distribution system. All three plants draw raw water from Lake Ontario. Residents of the older parts of Milton get drinking water that's groundwater-based: two well fields, Kelso and Walker's Line, take water from a sand and gravel aquifer system. The water from the Kelso wells goes to the Kelso WPP and is then pumped to the Milton Reservoir, then fed by gravity into the Milton distribution system. Water from the Walker's Line wells is disinfected and pumped to the Milton Surge Tank off No. 12 Sideroad before falling into the Milton distribution system. In Georgetown, three well fields -- Cedarvale, Princess Anne and Lindsay Court -- draw groundwater from a sand and gravel aquifer that underlies the town. Cervale water goes to the Georgetown WPP and on to the Georgetown distribution system while water from the other two well fields is disinfected before going into the distribution system, which includes the 22nd Sideroad Reservoir, the Moore Park Booster Station, the Todd Road Tower and the Norval Standpipe. Acton's water supply comes from multiple wells in three well fields, Davidson, Fourth Line and Prospect Park (Fairy Lake). The latter draws groundwater from the Prospect Park aquifer while the Davidson and Fourth Line wells take water from the Amabel Formation aquifer. The well water is disinfected and pumped to the Churchill Reservoir then on to the Acton distribution system. About 140 residents in the small hamlet of Campbellville in Milton get drinking water from the Campbellville Well Supply, which consists of two wells. The water is disinfected and stored in four pressure tanks that maintain pressure in the distribution system. Before After Full-mouth rehabilitation Dr. Phelan knows that the first step in creating a great smile and any new patient relationship is clear communication. With this in mind Dr. Phelan will spend time with you in our consultation area discussing any concerns you may have about your smile and dental health, as well as your goals for the future. Dr. Phelan feels it is best to get to know the person before he gets to know your teeth. Creating a beautiful and lasting smile requires time, skill and effort. No two people are alike and no two smiles are alike. Our goal is to create a smile that is unique and individual for you, that will look great now and for many years to come. We would like to create a smile that expresses your own unique personality and is well suited to your individual facial form. 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