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CBC radio reported a few weeks ago that a number of Ontario municipalities had been charged by the Ministry of the Environment for deficiencies in their municipal water treatment systems. I was curious as to whether or not Kawartha Lakes was one of the municipalities against whom charges had been laid, so I filed a Freedom of Information request with the City on June 7th. The City has 30 days to respond. Meanwhile, the employee newsletter called "Around CKL" dated June 3rd, 2005, published a story headlined "Upgrades bring water systems 'up to standard'". First a couple of observations: One has to note how a story which might otherwise be considered an embarrassment to the City administration can be given a positive spin by that same administration. Here's a quote from the story: "The story [in which CoKL was identified as one of the municipalities cited for violations to drinking water laws] is based on a Progress Report released by the Chief Drinking Water inspector from the MoE and the report is provided to confirm that the province's drinking water is of a very good quality and that our safety net approach is working." It further notes that "municipal residential drinking water systems are improving their operational performance in meeting Ontario's stringent regulatory requirements." The story continues: "This is very much the case right here in the City of Kawartha Lakes, which has been referenced in the report as being issued orders as well as one conviction." (my emphasis added) The story continues in a positive vein: "we've been working with the MoE towards compliance on all of our systems." "Since 2003 we've seen an 80% reduction in orders to comply from the Ministry so we're really making progress." "the municipality will have spent over $20 million to bring them [28 municipal water plants] up to the current standards outlined in the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Drinking Water Systems Regulations when the work is completed in early 2006."...Director of Public Works Ken Becking. But precious little (ie, nothing) is said about the conviction. For there to be a conviction, someone or something, for instance the City itself, has to have been charged with something. Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall seeing anything in the local press about charges levied against anyone, or the City. If anyone remembers such a story will you please let me know. Presumably, my Freedom of Information request will disclose the conviction details. The other observation: City administration has to stop blaming the problems, real or imagined, handed to them with amalgamation for performance shortcomings. The story tells how it (the City) inherited 28 water plants upon amalgamation and the majority of them didn't meet the standards that were brought in as a result of Walkerton. City administration has had almost 5 years to fix all the problems from the bad old days. Amalgamation was supposed to make municipal governance cheaper and more efficient. It's wearing a little thin for the City administration to try to blame problems on the old two-tier municipal structure. But let's come back to the main story. Director Becking continues: "The report shows this improvement with 17 orders identified in 2003-04 for Kawartha Lakes systems, but only 3 issued in 2004-05." (2005 ain't over yet.) How significant are these "orders?" Which water plants are or have been deficient? Was the public placed in any health risk by the deficiencies to the water systems? Was the public notified about these deficiencies? Did Council know about these deficiencies or about the charge leading to the conviction? What did Council know and when did Council know it? If the public was notified that there were problems with the water treatment plants, the public could take steps to protect themselves by drinking or cooking with bottled water. I'm assuming that the public was notified. If not, I will be trying to find out why they weren't. My final observation for now: If there has been full disclosure by City administration of problems relating to municipal water systems, I'm amazed at how little "buzz" there has been among the people who have to drink that water. If the lack of "buzz" is because City administration has been less than forthcoming, that's a whole 'nuther story. I will let you know the results of my FOI request. -- John Panter -- |
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