Collingwood's drinking water passed all tests last year, but one exception has been made by the province while the town's new plant is under construction.
“In general, the treatment plant and operation of the distribution system is meeting or exceeding ministry guidelines,” the town’s water manager Peggy Slama told councillors at the committee of the whole meeting on Feb. 11.
Councillors received the 2024 annual summary report of Collingwood’s drinking water system, which stated that test results last year from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 did not show any levels of inorganic or organic materials exceeding provincial standards.
The report did, however, note two incidents for council's information.
Testing on water being discharged to Georgian Bay showed higher than average concentrations of chlorine, which is supposed to be around 0.02 mg/L on average based on the town's municipal drinking water licence.
The discharge water is the result of the routine flushing of the filter membranes with chlorinated water. This backwashed water is then sent directly to the bay. Currently, the water plant is not equipped to dechlorinate the water before returning it to the bay.
Instead of having to report the higher-than-standard chlorine levels each month, the town was given a temporary exemption allowing treated wastewater to have up to 0.05 mg/L of chlorine concentration when it is discharged into the bay. The town's testing showed the chlorine levels were 0.04 mg/L for the whole of 2024.
The issue of higher chlorine levels in the discharge water will be resolved through the plant upgrade, said Slama.
“The ministry is aware of our limitations and inability to remove the chlorine prior to discharge,” she said.
The new water treatment plant is currently on track to open by 2029. It's a $270 million project, the costs of which are shared with New Tecumseth, which receives drinking water from Collingwood via a pipeline. The province also kicked in $70 million to help pay for the new plant.
The second incident of non-compliance noted in the staff report to council was a delay in notifying the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks about the installation of new ultraviolet disinfection equipment in July. The town did notify the ministry, though, just after the 10-day deadline.
Routine testing throughout the year indicated the water coming into the plant and going out of the plant to people's taps was safe.
Microbiological testing of 52 samples taken on both raw and treated water last year showed an e. Coli result of three for the raw water, and zero for treated water. Of the 531 samples taken from the distribution system, the e. Coli result was also zero.
No testing indicated inorganic materials exceeding acceptable concentration in 2024, which include substances such as arsenic, boron and mercury.
Organic materials, which include substances such as benzene, carbon tetrachloride and terbufos, also did not exceed acceptable concentrations last year, according to the town's routine testing.
Nitrite, nitrate, fluoride and sodium levels were tested multiple times last year, with no tests showing levels exceeding provincial standards.
The water treatment plant's busiest month was July 2024 with a demand of 25,476 cubic metres per day, which is about 82 per cent of the plant's capacity.
“It’s a great report,” said Coun. Chris Potts, before the committee voted in favour of approving.
Once approved by council in two weeks, the entire report will be posted publicly on the town’s website. It is available now in the agenda package here.