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economist sunrdibuhebeslonau newstliiikdaymg826ao 3 sga33ggr33ss enviro massive inspection program across province by patrick casey i t staff writer i althoughontarios environment ministry has uncovered c deficien- ciev at13f provincial water treat ment plants a york region official insists the regibnsvast water supply is safe for local residents in the wake ofthe recent walkerton water tragedy which killed six people and made a num ber of residents ill in thesouthwest- erh ontario community following the presence of the deadly e coli bacteriain its water system queens park haslauhched a rrias- sive inspection program across the province in -a- report released late last month ministry representatives have completed inspections of 241 of- the provinces 630 water treat ment plants and discovered prob iemsatl3ldfthem x the remaining plants wilfbe tested by the end of trie year s however- bruce macgregor yorks director of water and waste water said his staff conducted extensive selfassessments at all the regions treatment plants in june land sent them to tferniiiistry we reported to trie ministry and we havent heard anything back from them i fully eyject- to have 5hieard bafckjf there were any prob- lems saldvmacgregbf last week explaining trie region draws water from three different sources l theministryhasaliniitedsetof resources they are drawing on and they are targeting the suspected areas first we have volunteered some of our resources to assist them but we will be hearing from themr i wavless surprised tol see several municipalities were falling short jof adequate tests but very surprised to see inadequate chlori- r hafonthatisparamountto having clean water vf we have a very reliable source of water with a low level of risk said macgregor adding all water is treated with bacteriakilling clilo- nne 7 residents in aurora newmarket and east gwillimbury draw their water from deep underground aquifers wjiile georgina receives treated water from lakesimcoe the region has committed30 mil lion tdconstructanew lake simcoe facility that should be in service by 2002 replacing a plant built in 1958 richmond hul markliamand vaughan residents are supplied with water from the city of toronto which treats water taken from lake ontario before sending it to yorks sbuthern municipalities u and more than- 12- municipal wells supply water living in srhauef cornmunities such as king city mount albert and stouffville but moire tfian 50000 regional homeowners rely on pri- vate wells for water- in 74 ontario plants inspectors- found an insufficienf number of- chemical vrbacteh61bgicmsam pies being taken and analysed arid v 29 plants had riot adequately main- tained their disinfectant ment with either rib alarms to sig nala chldrination failure or no backup system in the event of such a failure v at another 24 treatment plants groundwater was being chlori nated or surface water was riot treated while in 24 cases plant operators were not certified by the ministry or had inadequate train- ing- environment minister dan newriiari said the provincial gov emmerit will continue to take tough action to make sure that ontarios drinking water is clean arid safe j we also have the financial resources in f c phceibfix things these results are not good enough slammed newman- am determined to make watertreat- ment facilities irithe province con- fornyto thhighest standards beginning in june the inspec tions are partbf a threestep action plan to safeguard community drinkingwater for the first round of inspec tions riiihistry officials went to treatment plants that had failed previous tests other steps include the introduction of inewrules to protect drinking water as well as a review of all certificatesof approval for munidpal waterworks in cases wherethere is failure to comply witti a field order the min istry can take action that includes prosecution under theontarid water resources act nearly a iiecade ago the provin cial government removed itself from thejwater business electing to become a regulatory watchdog instead of operators of the various facilities but macgregor admits the region has a decided advantage over much smaller corrirnunities thanks to a 817niilliori operating budget this year thatiricludes nearly 502 mil lion in reserves a aaacredit rating and 125 million throughout the year to rielp deliver treat arid main- tain 100 million cubic metres of water arid wastewater we are better resourced here in york region there is no question about it he said we hayea variety of plants we operate and our people are very skilled we also have the financial resources in place to fix things if needed 1 v leaders wanted girl guides of canada guides du canada call for details l800565r8111 this message brought to you as a community v service of the economistsun exclusively aerobics stduffyille new is september yoga print also babysitting for information i call 9058871248 general cosmetic dennstry for the whole family modern 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