Ontario: non-municipal drinking water not adequately inspected

A new report found significant gaps in Ontario’s inspection and testing of non-municipal drinking-water systems. These systems serve around three million people living in rural and remote areas. Auditor General Shelley Spence noted in the report that over 98% of samples taken from non-municipal drinking water meet Ontario quality standards. However, not all water is tested because the responsibility for water quality controls is split between the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP). The MOH is responsible for seasonal residential systems like cottages and public facilities like hotels and churches, while the MECP is responsible for year-round residential systems like schools and shelters. Moreover, the owners of private wells collect their samples and send them to public health units. Spence observed that the MECP has “effective processes” to monitor water quality and enforce compliance with legal requirements but cannot “regularly inspect” non-municipal systems. At least 34% have not been inspected by the MECP in more than five years. Many of these non-inspected systems supply water to over a hundred people, increasing their risk of using unsafe water for consumption and domestic needs. One of them which had not been inspected for over seven years serves a community college of 2500 people.
In the report Spence also noted the number of inspections declined 45% between 2012-23 and 2019-20. The decline was caused by the government’s decision to expand the workload for water compliance officers. The expansion included additional responsibilities for municipal sewage and stormwater systems which were prioritised at the expense of those for non-municipal water systems. The auditor general also found that public health units did not have effective ways to identify small drinking-water systems that have not properly self-reported. 52% of public health units responsible for non-municipal drinking-water systems did not inspect all systems due to a lack of staffing or resource issues. Spence said that data from five public health units found that 56% of small-drinking water-systems had not provided a testing sample in the past five years. This represents a serious risk to public health because over 1 million Ontarians rely on private wells for their water supply, with little regulation and oversight. Private owners are also not properly informed when there is a threat to their water sources.
The MECP has agreed with all recommendations made in the report and says it will work “to improve the procedural efficiencies of municipal drinking-water system inspections.” On her part, Spence acknowledged that the MECP is strengthening its processes to address repeat non-compliance.