Collingwood’s water was mostly crystal clear in 2023, according to the town’s annual report.
At their committee of the whole meeting on Feb. 5, councillors received the 2023 annual summary report of Collingwood’s drinking water system, with no exceedances recorded last year. The report covers Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023.
“I’m pleased to report that Collingwood continues to provide a safe and reliable source of potable water to our customers, and we continue to meet or exceed all legislative requirements,” said the town’s public works director Peggy Slama during Monday’s meeting.
There were, however, a few incidents from 2023 outlined in the report.
On June 1, 2023 while an operator was shutting off a valve to isolate a watermain for repair, another operator was opening another valve to feed the area. This resulted in the pressure dropping to 15 pounds per square inch (PSI) for less than one minute, and was reported to the medical officer of health. No corrective action was requested by the officer.
There were two specific instances noted in the report of non-conformity.
The first was regarding wastewater discharged into Georgian Bay showing chlorine residuals above the minimum concentration of 0.05 mg/litre, however, the town has consulted with the ministry of environment, conservation and parks on those overages.
“The ministry has accepted that this will be addressed through our plant upgrade,” said Slama.
The monthly running annual average of total chlorine ranged from 0.03 mg/litre to 0.04 mg/litre.
Until the plant expansion is completed, Slama said town staff test, monitor and report to the ministry on a regular basis.
A second non-compliance incident was identified with respect to testing of pH and alkalinity. This was reported to ministry and the sampling schedule was updated.
Microbiological testing showed that 52 tests were taken of both raw and treated water last year, which showed an e. Coli result of 28 for the raw water, and zero for treated water. Of the 480 samples taken from the distribution system, the e. Coli result was also zero.
There were no instances of any inorganic materials exceeding acceptable concentration in 2023, 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. Nitrite, nitrate, fluoride and sodium levels were tested four times last year.
The maximum treated water demand of 24,260 metres cubed per day was experienced in June and December 2023. This maximum day demand represented 78 per cent of the water treatment plant’s rated capacity.
During council discussion, Coun. Deb Doherty asked when the town’s new UV system, which assists in water treatment, would be up and running.
Slama said the work was mostly completed this past October, and the system has been operating since Oct. 31, 2023.
“We have been working within a 90-day trial period with the manufacturer. We just completed that and so far, so good. The equipment is working as it should,” said Slama.
The annual report is a requirement of the provincial Safe Drinking Water Act through the ministry of environment, conservation and parks. Once approved by councillors, the report will be posted on the town’s website no later than Feb. 28.
To read the full report, click here.
