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20 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 4, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Your Halton Connection April 2008 www.halton.ca Providing you with safe and quality drinking water by Regional Chair Gary Carr Water is an essential need, so ensuring you have clean, safe and top quality drinking water is important to us. Water is also a precious resource that needs to be protected and conserved. Halton Regional Council has reinforced the importance of protecting our drinking water sources, with the goal in Halton Region's Strategic Plan to enhance, protect and maintain quality, quantity and safety of groundwater and surface water. Halton is working collaboratively with the Lake Ontario Collaborative and Conservation Halton to develop a Source Protection Plan for our surface and groundwater sources. The plan will help ensure the protection and quantity of our drinking water at the beginning of its journey before it reaches the groundwater aquifers and our treatment plants. In Halton Region people in the urban areas receive their water from the municipal water system while residents in the rural areas are primarily on private wells. Our highlyqualified, licensed and dedicated Regional staff, working in the water treatment plants, takes the responsibility of providing you with safe and clean water very seriously. In January the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) gave all Halton municipal residential drinking water systems a Final Inspection Rating of 100%. In other words, no compliance issues were cited during any of the system inspections that occurred in 2006-2007. A rating of 100% is a tribute to the hard work and commitment to excellence of Halton's operational, laboratory, and technical staff responsible for providing drinking water. The rating is intended to indicate the effort required to meet the province's regulatory requirements. For more information on your water, visit www.halton.ca/water. Halton would encourage those residents who have a private drinking well, and are not on a municipal drinking system, to ensure the safety of their well water by following Health Department recommendations and having your well water tested regularly. For more information, see the story on well water information sessions next to this one. Well Water Information Sessions Did you know? Forty three per cent of water samples taken from dug wells and 31 per cent of water samples taken from drilled wells in 2007 were contaminated with bacteria and not safe to drink. (Halton Region Rural Well Water Study 2007) Low Flow Toilet Rebate Program Halton is currently offering rebates to residents of single family homes who purchase and install a Halton approved water efficient toilet in their home. By replacing your old inefficient toilet to a maximum performance (MaP) approved 6L or less per flush toilet you can save money on your water bill and reduce your impact on the environment! There is a limit of one rebate per residence and the approved toilet must have been purchased after January 1, 2007. There are a limited number of rebates available in 2008, which will be issued on a first come, first served basis. For more information visit our website, www.halton.ca/toiletrebate, or call us. Save time and money by making your lawn and garden Want to know how you can still enjoy a beautiful garden and spend less time watering this summer? Halton's Landscape Advisor will visit your home and provide water efficiency tips and tools to assist you in making your landscape more water efficient. To be placed on a call back list for a complimentary landscape assessment for Summer 2008, please call us, or email accesshalton@halton.ca. Visit our information sessions to: jar) sample bottle (supplied by the Health - Be Water Wise! We would like to encourage everyone to be Water Wise and find ways to become water efficient both inside and outside the home. Please avoid unnecessary water use whenever possible, a little conservation by all of us can make a significant difference. To learn more about water efficiency contact Halton Region to obtain your complimentary copy of the Household Guide to Water Efficiency or visit www.halton.ca/ waterconservation for additional conservation tips. Tuesday, April 8 Limehouse Memorial Hall 12389 5th Line Halton Hills Tuesday, April 15 Campbellville Lions Club Hall 42 Main Street South Campbellville April Meetings at Halton Region Headquarters April 8, 9:30 a.m. April 9, 9:30 a.m. April 9, 1:30 p.m. April 16, 9:30 a.m. April 29, 9:30 a.m. April 30, 9:30 a.m. April 30, 1:30 p.m. Health & Social Services Cte Administration & Finance Cte Planning & Public Works Cte Regional Council Meeting Health & Social Services Cte Administration & Finance Cte Planning & Public Works Cte cost to taxpayers.