REPORT OF THE EXPERT PANEL ON SAFE DRINKING WATER FOR FIRST NATIONS
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Information Reporting
| Regulatory Requirement (Information Reporting) | Statute, Regulation, etc. | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | ||
| A waterworks system must meet at least the minimum waterworks performance standards set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality | Potable Water Regulation, A. Reg. 277/2003 | 7(1) |
| Any failure or shut-down of the equipment use for disinfection must be reported immediately to the Director and the Regional Health Authority | Potable Water Regulation, A. Reg. 277/2003 | 11 |
| A person responsible for a waterworks system shall submit returns and reports respecting the construction, operation or reclamation of the system as required in an approval or the applicable code of practice (or as required by the Director) | Potable Water Regulation, A. Reg. 277/2003 | 16(1) |
| Director may require re-submission of unsatisfactory samples | Potable Water Regulation, A. Reg. 277/2003 | 17(4) |
Reporting requirements:
|
Standards and Guidelines for Municipal Waterworks, Wastewater and Storm Drainage Systems (January 2006) | 1.11.2
1.11.2.1
1.11.2.2
1.11.2.3 |
| Reporting guidelines for water distribution systems | Waterworks Systems Consisting Solely of a Water Distribution System |
P. 9 |
| British Columbia | ||
| A water supplier must immediately notify the drinking water officer of the suppler considers there is a threat that is likely to result in the drinking water not meeting the standards | Drinking Water Protection Act, S.B.C. 2001, c. 9 | 13 |
| The drinking water officer may request or order a water supplier to give public notice under certain circumstances | Drinking Water Protection Act | 14 |
| Laboratory must report test results to the drinking water officer and the water supplier If a monitoring & testing parameter is exceeded, the laboratory must immediately give notice to the water supplier, the drinking water officer and the medical health officer |
Drinking Water Protection Act | 11(2)
12 |
| Drinking water officer can request laboratory to provide a report of all water samples and results for a water supplier | Drinking Water Protection Regulation, B.C. Reg. 200/2003 | 8(f) |
| Immediate reporting (under s. 12 of the Act) required where Sched. A standards not met (subject to exceptions) | Drinking Water Protection Regulation | 9 |
| Public notification required where water not potable | Drinking Water Protection Regulation | 10 |
| Operating permit may contain terms and conditions requiring information reporting | Drinking Water Protection Act | 8(3)(f) |
| Information that must be made public by a water supplier in accordance with the regulations: emergency plan, the results of monitoring and testing, its current assessment and response plan | Drinking Water Protection Act | 15 |
| Who must provide information, where multiple owners | Drinking Water Protection Act | 17 |
| Water supplier must prepare and assessment if required by the regulations or ordered by the drinking water officer (purpose: to inventory and assess source water (incl. land use), the system's operations, monitoring requirements, threats to drinking water) Grounds for drinking water officer's order re assessments Public notice must be given of assessment, and assessment made public |
Drinking Water Protection Act | 18
19
21 |
| Assessment response plan required under certain circumstances (to identify measures to address threats identified in assessment) | Drinking Water Protection Act | 22 |
| The Provincial health officer must prepare an annual report for the legislature, report to Minister any situation seriously impeding the protection of public heath due to government action/inaction | Drinking Water Protection Act | 4.1-4.2 |
| Certain persons required to report threats to drinking water to the drinking water officer (incl. persons required to report spills under other statutes, and members of the civil service) | Drinking Water Protection Act | 24 |
| Public notice may be required for hazard abatement and prevention orders | Drinking Water Protection Act | 25(3)(f) |
| Person can be required to give public notice or report information by order (where contravention suspected) | Drinking Water Protection Act | 26 |
| Notification of habitat officer required where a person makes a change in or about a stream | Water Regulation, B.C. Reg. 204/88 | 40 |
| Manitoba | ||
| Every 5 years, every public or semi-public water supplier must conduct an assessment of the water system's infrastructure and its water supply source, in accordance with the regulations | The Drinking Water Safety Act, S.M. 2002, c. 36 | 9 |
| Every public and semi-public water supplier must sample and submit results bacteriological and other prescribed parameters from the water system to the director, in accordance with the regulations | The Drinking Water Safety Act | 22(1) |
| Laboratory must report serious health risks and exceedances to the director, medical officer or drinking water officer | The Drinking Water Safety Act | 22(2) |
| NOTE: No regulations under the Drinking Water Safety Act have been passed yet | - | - |
| Certain information must be submitted as a prerequisite to establishing a public water system | Water Works, Sewerage and Sewage Disposal Regulation, M. Reg. 331/88R (under the Public Health Act) | 2(1) |
| Before commencing operations as a facility, the owner must prepare of table of organisation for the director | Water and Wastewater Facility Operators Regulation, M. Reg. 77/2003 (under The Environment Act) | 24 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | ||
| Current practice is that the province ports DWQ results to it website and also lists all boil water orders. (Since it is the province that does DWQ monitoring – there is no need for "reporting") | Martin Goebel (Director, Water Resources Management Division; Department of Environment and Conservation) | - |
| New Brunswick | ||
| If an owner of a regulated water system submits water for testing at a laboratory other than the Provincial Analytical Services, the laboratory shall transmit the results from the tests to the Minister | Potable Water Regulation, N.B. Reg. 93-203 (under the Clean Water Act) | 9(2) |
| Person contemplating establishing a waterworks must submit to the Minister the plans, specifications, engineer's reports, estimates, a source water analysis, and the plans and specifications | Health Act, S.N.B., c. H-2 | 14 |
| Violation of term or condition of an approval must be reported | Water Quality Regulation, N.B. Reg. 82-126 (under the Clean Environment Act) | 11 |
| The operator must keep a record of all tests required under the regulation and make them available at any time to an inspector | General Regulation, N.B. Reg. 88-200 (under the Health Act) | 225(3) |
Certificates of Approval require approval holders to submit annual reports to the Department of Environment, which must address:
|
Tony J. Whalen (Senior Drinking Water Engineer, Water & Wastewater Management Section, N.B. Department of Environment) | - |
| Environmental Emergencies Certificates of Approval require approval holders to immediately notify the Department of Environment when
Certificates of Approval require approval holders to immediately notify the Department of Health when a deterioration of the water quality in the distribution system is of such a magnitude or duration that there is concern for the health and/or safety of the general public (for example, when E. coli detected in a drinking water sample, a stoppage or malfunction of a continuous disinfection system; significant losses of water pressure) |
Tony Whalen (Senior Drinking Water Engineer) | - |
| Northwest Territories | ||
| Commissioner and the Minister may, on behalf of the Government of NWT, enter into agreements with the Government of Canada (or a provincial government in conjunction with the Government of Canada) respecting water resources management | Water Resources Agreements Act, R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c.17 (Supp.) | 2 |
| Daily, monthly and annual water sampling procedures have been developed (but not implemented yet) Environmental Health Officers keep records of all boil water advisories |
"Managing Drinking Water Quality in NWT: A Preventative Framework Strategy" (May 2005) | P. 13 |
A publicly accessible drinking water quality database  with lab results and boil water advisories is operational |
Duane Fleming (Chief Environmental Health Officer, Stanton Territorial Health Authority) | - |
| Nova Scotia | ||
| An owner must immediately notify the Minister or an administrator as soon as they are aware of any of an exceedance of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, raw water contamination, etc. | Water and Wastewater Facilities and Public Drinking Water Supplies Regulation, N.S. Reg. 186/2005 (made under the Environment Act) | 34 |
| A municipal water supply's operating approval also stipulates reporting requirements | John Eisnor (Facilities Engineer, Water and Wastewater Branch) | - |
| Nunavut | ||
| No relevant provisions | ||
| Ontario | ||
| Every owner of a municipal drinking-water system shall provide a copy of all operational plans for the system to the Director | Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 32 | 16(2) [not yet in force] |
| Adverse results must be reported by the laboratory, in accordance with the regulations, and must also report result to accredited operating authority, or to the owner if no such authority exists. (For practical purposes, current practice is to report to the owner, as the accreditation paradigm is to be developed as part of the Municipal Drinking Water License program, which has not yet been rolled out) | Safe Drinking Water Act Lisa Trevisan (Sr. Drinking Water Advisor, Office of the ADM/Chief Drinking Water Inspector, Drinking Water Management Division) |
18
- |
| A municipal drinking-water licence may contain conditions re reporting and notice requirements | Safe Drinking Water Act | 45 |
| Reporting requirements (for adverse test results and other problems) set out in schedules, and depend on the size and classification of the system | Drinking-Water Systems Regulation, O. Reg. 170/03 (made under the SDWA) Non-Residential and Non-Municipal Seasonal Residential Systems that Do Not Serve Designated Facilities, O. Reg. 252/05 (made under the SDWA) |
4
3 |
| System information must be submitted to the Director Annual reports must be prepared and submitted to the Director |
Drinking-Water Systems, O. Reg. 170/03 | 10
11 |
| Certain test results must be reported by the lab to the Director | Drinking-Water Testing Services Regulation, O. Reg. 248/03 | 12 |
| Both the Minister of the Environment and the Chief Drinking Water Inspector required to produce reports about province's drinking water that are made publicly available. (Minister provides report to the Legislative Assembly; Chief Drinking Water Inspector provides a separate report to the Minister that is subsequently released to the public) | Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 32 | 3(4) [not yet in force], 7(2) |
| Prince Edward Island | ||
| All public and semi-public drinking water supply systems must be registered with the Department | Drinking Water and Wastewater Facility Operating Regulations, P.E.I. Reg. EC710/04 (under the Environmental Protection Act) | 7 |
| Where water quality is analyzed by a laboratory other than the PEI Analytical Laboratories, the owner shall submit the results of the analysis to the Department within 5 working days of receipt Where water quality is analyzed by a laboratory other than the PEI Analytical Laboratories and where the results of the analysis indicate the presence of E. coli, the owner shall notify the department immediately The owner of a public drinking water supply facility must report a summary of the results of water quality analyses to its customers annually |
Drinking Water and Wastewater Facility Operating Regulations, P.E.I. Reg. EC710/04 | 13(2)
13(3)
14(1) |
| Tourism establishments must notify Department of Health and Social Services where water tests show water not for human consumption | General Regulations, P.E.I. Reg. EC267/99 (Tourism Industry Act) | 13 |
| Quebec | ||
| All the analysis results must be sent electronically to the ministry (even if compliant with the standards) | Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water, c. Q-2, r. 18.1 | 33 |
| Laboratory must inform person in charge of distribution system, the Minister and to the regional public health director if fecal coliform bacteria or E. coli present in water, or if any other Sch. 1 standard exceeded | Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water | 35 |
| Person in charge of distribution system must notify the Minister and the regional public health director if failure of coagulation system, the sedimentation system, the filtering system, the disinfection system, etc. | Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water | 35.1 |
| Person in charge of distribution system must notify the Minister and the regional public health director of planned remedial measures where Sched. 1 standards exceeded, and must notify users if fecal coliform bacteria or E. coli present in water (by sending individual written notices or by any other appropriate means, and informing users that their water is unfit for consumption and of the precautions to be taken, including boiling water) | Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water | 36 |
| Must notify connected distribution system of certain exceedances | Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water, c. Q-2, r. 18.1 | 37, 39.1, 40 |
| Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs must report every 5 years to the government about implementation of the regulation and opportunity to modify standards | Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water | 54 |
| Saskatchewan | ||
| Minister is responsible for the collection of data on water quality in Saskatchewan. Minister may set up equipment to do so, or require a municipality, etc. to do so | Environmental Management and Protection Act, 2002, S.S. c. E-10.21 | 17(1) |
| Any laboratory that conducts any analysis of water samples for a waterworks must report the results to the permittee and the Minister If a sample shows that the total fecal coliform standard has been exceeded, the laboratory must notify the Minister and permittee in a particular manner On being so notified, the permittee must report to the Minister the measures it intends to take to remedy the situation Testing must be done after the completion, alteration, extension or repair of part of a waterworks Annual reporting to consumers also required |
The Water Regulations, 2002, c. E10.21, M. Reg 1 | 39(7)
39(8)
39(9)
40
44 |
| The permittee of a waterworks shall ensure an independent engineering assessment is completed for certain aspects of the waterworks at least once every five years, and the findings must be reported to the Minister | The Water Regulations, 2002, c. E10.21, M. Reg 1 | 35 |
| Permittee of waterworks and every employee, agent or contractor engaged by a permittee shall immediately report to the Minister and known or anticipated upset condition that could adversely affect the quality of the water produced; and must immediately report failure of disinfection equipment or inadequate disinfection | The Water Regulations, 2002 | 37 |
| Owner or operator of a public water supply must immediately notify the local authority of any situation that may affect the safety of the public water supply | Health Hazard Regulations, R.R.S. c. P-37.1, Reg. 10 | 9 |
| NOTE: further information reporting requirements may be set forth in permit (issued pursuant to Environmental Management and Protection Act, 2002, S.S. c. E-10.21, s. 23) | ||
| Yukon | ||
| No relevant provisions | ||
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