Drinking Water
| What's on this page |
|---|
| Protecting Drinking Water Sources |
| What is a Pollutant or Contaminant? |
| Who's Responsible for Drinking Water |
| Source Water |
- A private water well, or
- A regulated drinking water system
What is a regulated drinking water system?
A regulated drinking water system is a system that provides drinking water to:
- A business
- A common space
- A group of more than five residences
These generally include municipalities, resorts, rural restaurants and summer camps.
All drinking water sources need to be tested and treated to ensure
that they are supplying clean and safe water. Regulated
drinking water systems are required by
law to monitor water quality and to meet specific standards.
Harmful components include:
- Pollutants
- Contaminants
What You Need to Know About Protecting Drinking Water Sources
What is a Pollutant or Contaminant?
- Physical
- Chemical
- Biological
- Radiological
It is a substance or matter that degrades water quality and/or threatens the safety of its intended users.
Major contaminants such as bacteria are considered hazardous to your health, while others such as colour and smell are only an aesthetic concern.
Who is Responsible for Drinking Water?
There are three main categories for responsibilities relating to drinking water.- Municipal - owned by municipalities and serve large and small communities.
- Private -owned and operated by individual property owners.
- Owner and Operator -owned by a corporate body or municipality to serve a business or other public facility, such as a resort, condominium, rural community centre or rural church.
Source Water
Source water is untreated water from lakes, streams, or underground aquifers that supplies water to private wells and public drinking water systems. It could come from:- surface water
- groundwater
Importance of source water
Source water is the water supply for our drinking water. If left unprotected, source water could become contaminated or polluted. Source water remediation is a difficult and costly process.Protecting source water
Source water protection is simply protecting our water resources, such as lakes, rivers and groundwater, from contamination or overuse so that we have enough clean and potable water for all our uses.
Planning for safe drinking water by protecting the quality and integrity of water at its source is very important. The province is preparing new legislation that will make source protection plans mandatory across Ontario.
View reports on the Walkerton Commission of Inquiry.
