Only minor incidents to report in year-long testing of Woolwich’s drinking water
THE THOUSANDS OF TESTS OF Woolwich’s drinking water done each year typically turn up only a handful of minor incidents. For 2023, the number of occurrences was 17, down from 21 the year prior.
Those numbers are higher in, say, a decade earlier, but most of what are called Adverse Water Quality Incidents are deemed minor, resolved simply by flushing the affected areas with freshly chlorinated water, director of infrastructure services Jared Puppe told councillors meeting Tuesday night.
Testing is done daily on the township’s four water systems – Woolwich North, Maryhill, Breslau and Heidelberg – to look for levels of chlorine, bacteriological elements, chemicals and lead. Sampling, carried out by the region under contract, is done at various locations throughout the distribution systems deemed as representative.
Most of the incidents recorded last year involved readings of elevated total coliform levels. In each instance, the problem was resolved by flushing the system. As with lowered chlorine levels that sometimes occur, issues were more likely to develop in parts of the systems with deadend pipes, where water doesn’t move around as often as in the typical looped areas.
In such cases, the incidents don’t mean the water is unsafe, simply that there is a technical issue that was quickly remedied, said Puppe.
“Predominantly, it is simply some low chlorine residuals. Flushing then can take care of that. That can happen in stagnant systems. That is pretty common here,” he said.
Responding to a question from Coun. Bonnie Bryant, Scott Orton, Woolwich’s supervisor of water/wastewater, said the incidents were “spread out through our systems,” noting that occurrences are more likely during the warm weather when the likes of insects can interfere with sampling stations.
He said steps are being taken to avoid such issues, with the region having been asked to perhaps alter testing processes to take the warm-weather circumstances into consideration.