Businesses located in rural or remote areas often use private wells, or surface water sources such as rivers or lakes for drinking water. If your business makes drinking water available to the public, it’s your responsibility to take steps to ensure that it is safe to drink.
Why is it important to have safe drinking water? Unsafe water can cause diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, fever, kidney failure and even death.
Am I the owner/operator of a small drinking water system (SDWS)? If your system makes drinking water available to the public and you do not get your drinking water from a municipal drinking water system, you may be an owner or operator of a SDWS. Click here to see if you have a SDWS.
Examples of SDWS include: Restaurants, hotels, motels, trailer parks, camp grounds, gas stations, marinas, places of worship, recreational facilities, clubs or fraternal organizations, and other facilities that provide the general public with access to a washroom, drinking water fountain or shower.
How do I register my SDWS? If you own or operate a SDWS and do not currently have a Ministry of the Environment waterworks number (DWS#) then you must register your system. To register your SDWS fill out the Small Drinking Water System Identification form and either fax or mail the completed form to your local public health unit. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care will provide you with a unique identification number that is specific to your SDWS. This number will be used for all your laboratory sample submissions and other correspondence related to your SDWS.
As the owner and operator of a SDWS, you must ensure that at least one sample is taken every three months for Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total coliforms. The frequency, number and any additional tests that you may be required to perform, will be outlined in the customized directive (link) issued for your system by a public health inspector.
What do I do if I get an adverse test result? SDWS operators are required to immediately report every adverse observation and every adverse test result to the local medical officer of health (MOH) (i.e. call you local Health Unit, Environmental Health Department) and to the owner of the system. The immediate notice to the MOH must be done by speaking in person or by phone with the office of the MOH, or the after-hours on-call person. A follow- up written notice within 24 hours must also be sent to the MOH, using the Notice of Adverse Test Results and Issue Resolution form.
Both the immediate report and the 24- hour written notice must specify the adverse result or observation, the actions being taken in response, and whether any required corrective action (specified in the regulations) is being taken.
Under Ontario Regulation 319/08 (Small Drinking Water Systems) what are some of my responsibilities as a SDWS owner or operator?
Notification of intent to supply water
Designating an operator
Sampling and testing
Providing adequate treatment
Responding to adverse results
Records Retention
Complying with directives
Request for review
Training
Should I be concerned with blue-green algae? If you draw directly from a lake or bay, yes. Look for visual signs of blue-green algae and be cautious as it can affect your water safety. To learn more click here.
For more information see the links below or to speak with a public health inspector call 613-966-5513 ext. 677.
