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? THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, JANUARY 31,2001 PAGE 7 B Y J UN NI FEISTONE Staff Wrir DURHAM - iveryone accepts accepts it as a givei-- you turn on your tap and water comes out. ' Cleat water; .afe water -- at least that's ben the experience experience with muiicipally-sup- plied vater in Durham. But have yju ever- wondered what is don: to ensue our water's safety, or where the water comes from in the firs: place? In jhc wake o^thè. Walker- ton trigedy last spriig, when seven "people died md 2,300 becane sick in q.ii E., coli 0157:H7 and jaqip,ylobacter outbreak, mu/icipal water supplies have /een under ex- tremii scrutiny,But a trip to the local water stuply plant shows a system of extensive monitoring,,' monitoring,,' on-lim, in-house and through the Regional Environmental Environmental Labratory in Pickering, Pickering, un acredited facility. Since 199, the Region has also takenpart in the Ministry of the En'ronment's Drinking Water Svveillance program, where saiples of both raw and treated titer, including samples samples collcted from residences from may parts of the region, .go throuh about 180 different tests. J "Thavater we provide, we check iput and make sure it's safe," Jures Ron Motum, supervisa supervisa of technical support with te Durham Region Works department. Thet. are plenty of safeguards'll safeguards'll place, agrees one of his collègues. "Th Region has taken water batmen) extremely seriously seriously says Dave West, of the forks Department's Water/ foste,water Operations Technial Support Division. Testing is .plane at virtually every sep.'of the process, he adds. 1 1 BOWMANVILLE - Chief Maintenance Officer Gerry Thompson shows off testing equipment that measures chlorine levels in water at the Bowmanville Water Supply A.J. GROEN/ Statesman photo Plant. Durham's water supply goes through an extensive monitoring system to ensure it's safe to clrink, officials say. "Thee ,'(s a, ton of testing being loie :r cai' to look at this y ... to identify a tefore it becomes a concent"assufes Mr. West. water Durham Region's liquid assets Municipally-supplied water is rigorously tested to ensure its safety, officials assure WII1RE DOES OUR and 28 groundwater wells. tance from shore and deep water picture in the intake Mr. West. While the prospect of within the water. For example, pipe. That's due to zebra mus- At that point, tiny dosages drinking water, that originated at the Bowmanville Water sels, which can adhere to the of a chemical are added to the COitÜÉ ERÔM?'y, ..\n, Lake Ontario'mayfoot' thrill / .Supply Riant, the mtake pipe inside of the intake pipe,.mak- water. is 1.3 kilometres out into the ing it difficult to get water "This chemical simply acts lake, at a depth of 12 metres, through. In 1992, it was "de- as glue, and brings particles At other, newer plants, such as cided by the Ministry (of the (of things we don't want in the TheRegion of Durham gets its wær frjbm three sources: Lake Mario, Lake Simcoe, some residents, Mr. West calls the lake a "good water source." Intake pipes from the lake are a "considerable" dis- one recently opened in Ajax, Mr. West says the pipe is out even further. "It's money well spent to get good water at the source. Then, treatment isn't nearly as critical or expensive," he notes. That's not to say Durham's drinking water isn't treated and extensively monitored for safety, though. Chlorine, one of the keys to water safety, first enters the Environment) that they would inject chlorine into the pipe" to get rid of the zebra mussels, says Mr. West. The system has been monitored, and "it's proved to be quite effective," he notes, adding divers are sent down occasionally to check on the zebra mussel situation. situation. The water enters the plant, and goes through a screen, which sometimes picks up fish, sticks and stones, says water) together," making a large particle called a "floe," which is filtered out, explains Mr. West. The next stage is filtration, which Mr. West calls "a very natural process. We're trying to duplicate that, only much more efficiently and rapidly." After filtration, chlorine is added to remove any disease- causing organisms. Some chlorine is left in the water to act as a disinfectant through ,1 1 A.J. GROEN/ Sttatesnum photo At tit Bowmanville Water Supply Plant, Chief Maintenance Offer Gerry Thompson, left, and Dave West of the Water Opmtions Technical Support Division are with high lift pulps that fill tlie water tower in the centre of Bowmanville. Extensive testing has shown Durham's water to be safe, say Regional staff. But a simple cleaning job can help ensure we aren't causing causing an in-home problem with the water, says Ron Motum, the Durham Region Works Department's Department's supervisor of technical technical support. It's as simple as removing the aerator found at the end of the tap, he notes. "It's a good idea to take them off periodically and disinfect them, because of splash-up from the sink," he says. Immerse Immerse the aerator in regular household bleach, then rinse it thoroughly, and "that will disinfect disinfect it fairly quickly," advises Mr. Motum. the distribution system. In areas served by groundwater wells, nature takes care of most of the filtration. In Durham, the works department department sometimes adds sodium silicate to groundwater to deal with iron problems. Then, chlorine is added, for the same reason it is added to water coming from the lake. CHLORINE -- THE GOOD OUTWEIGHS THE BAD Chlorine may affect the taste of water somewhat, notes Mr. West. "Some people don't like the taste of it, I know, but the down side (of not using chlorine) chlorine) is the Walkerton issue," he says. Associate medical officer of health for the region, Dr. Donna Reynolds, says "treatment "treatment of the water supply with chlorine has been a key public , health intervention," which ' helps keep viruses and bacteria bacteria out of what we drink. There have, over the years, ' been concerns raised about chlorine in the water system mixing with organic material in the water, causing tri- , halomethanes. Though there had been concerns about possible possible links between tri- halomethanes and some forms of cancer, Dr. Reynolds says, "Health Canada has done a number of reviews and have concluded at this point that 1 there is insufficient evidence" to say trihalomethanes have caused the cancers. "The benefit of using chlo- ' , rine to disinfect our water supply supply far outweighs" the risk, says Dr. Reynolds. The real disadvantage of ;** chlorine in the water is the f taste, says Dr. Reynolds. To reduce it, Dr. Reynolds sug- gests aerating tap water in a p blender, storing the water in ■' the fridge, using a filtre, or v boiling it. A COUPLE OF WEEKS " iL OF MUSTY WATER ■ - .... V-, .■•/. • i r. r "T Taste can, also , become ( an issue when the temperature'"' rises in the lake, causing de- X composition of algae. That causes a somewhat musty, f earthy smell and taste to the water, usually in the late sum- ' ~ mer, for a couple of weeks. f "Some people are extremely sensitive to it; some don't notice notice it at all," says Mr. West. ^ The problem usually doesn't j, last very long, and is an aes- j thetic issue, the works depart- , ment says. "It's two weeks of the year that we wish we could avoid," Mr. West notes. "But it's not a health problem." FROM THE PLANT TO THE TAP Water flows from the plant to a storage facility, then through part of the region's 1,912.7 kilometres of water mains, to a copper connection which comes into your home. After that it's simply a matter of physics. "Water is under pressure," says Mr. Motum. "When you open the tap, water will seek the easy route." y Protecting our natural heritage Jéan Fan is a chief park warden for Parks Canada. He and his colleagues protect the plant and animal life in our national I parks. They also help Canadians explore and enjoy these Special places. This is just one of the hundreds of services provided by the Government of Canada. /For more information on government services: •Visit the Service Canada Access Centre nearest you •Visit >vww.canada.gc.ca •Call 1 800 O-Canada (1 800 622-6232) TTY/TDD: 1 800 465-7735 Canada U f.