Earlier in June, Interior Health's Medical Health Officer met with RDCK's Rural Affairs Committee. It appears that most of the discussion centered around drinking water, specifically the new water regulations and the pressure those regulations will put on small communities and small water systems.
If anyone wants to see the effect of these new regulations, one needs go no further than the South Slocan, where a very expensive system is now in place (rumored to have cost in excess of $1 million). Never mind that almost no-one there wanted the new system; they have it now and will be paying for it. In part, this happened because the South Slocan water system was to be taken over by RDCK. Pressure was applied by Interior Health on the Regional District to fix the system so it met the standards of the Drinking Water Protection Act. Against many objections, the work was done.
It might be worth pointing out that the new regulations require two methods of treatment. Our system, owned and operated by PRWUS, has that kind of arrangement, a filtration system down to 1 micron and a chlorination system. We also monitor chlorine levels on a daily basis and water samples are sent in regularly to be tested for the presence of bacteria and other pathogens. So, for the time being, our system meets the requirements set out in the new regulations under the Drinking Water Protection Act.
I think it's clear from this that the Government is prepared to insist that drinking water quality across the province be improved. It's simply not going to be good enough to argue that "we've drunk the water from that lake (river, bog, whatever) for years and never had a problem with it". It's also clear that the Government won't be paying for these improvements, where they are needed. Our view is that it's always good to stay ahead of these things and never get in the position of having to play catch-up with the whims of Governments. Like most things connected with Government, they usually cost you money.
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