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Friday October 13,2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER 7 Private w ell ow ners taking w ater quality seriously By Irene Gentle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Halton residents who own pri vate wells have been jolted into action in the wake of the Walkerton tragedy. Six people died as a result of a contaminated municipal water sup ply in that town, unleashing a tor rent of public concern about water quality across the province. As a result, Halton Region Health Department (HRHD) has been fielding up to 150 local water sample results a day lately. In the past, the results were mailed from provincial labs directly to residents without notifying the HRHD, Halton's health and social services committee heard last week. But that changed in the trail of the Walkerton crisis. Despite that, follow up calls made by the HRHD to households with positive test results proved both costly and unnecessary, said Halton's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Bob Nosal. "It was a huge amount of staff time that wasn't paying off," he said. "About 90 to 95% of people knew about the results and were already taking action." When a test comes back positive, indicator bacteria such as total coliform are often found. Harmless in its own right, that bacteria alerts the resident that a more virulent strain could follow. That prompted Burlington Councillor John Taylor to wonder if identifying the exact strain of a detected bacteria could be helpful. "Is there any merit on a spot basis of typing that bacteria," he asked. But any positive test result means the water needs to be treated, responded Dr. Nosal. "When E. coli is found, the water is clearly unsafe," he said. "You don't need to type it anymore. You shouldn't be drinking it." Specifically typing tainted water would be costly and unnecessary, he added. `T he cost would be prohibitive and the water is already unsafe," said Dr. Nosal. "The key message is it's unsafe water. You have to do something about it." Walkerton served as an alarm for residents who may have shrugged off positive test results in the past, he noted. "If there's one good thing that came out of Walkerton, it's that it served as a wake-up call for resi dents that they can't just dismiss E. coli," said Dr. Nosal. Poor well construction, sewage leaks and agricultural run-off can lead to positive sample results. Currently the Region is survey ing privately owned wells to best devise a public education campaign. Also, rural planning applications are being carefully scrutinized to ensure development doesn't impact water quality. As a last resort, the Region is attempting to obtain discounted water treatment devices for Halton residents who find conventional fixes haven't been effective. Pud by Steve Nease Jou B ouarr maxaFish?/ as weW E R E W A L K IN G B YTH E PET STO R E/,, IN K LES"? 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