Health Canada establishes guidelines for drinking water quality, including 80 maximum acceptable concentrations for various substances that can affect health and aesthetics. Additionally, the Ontario Ministry of Environment adds guidelines for several additional parameters. During 1998, there were no health-related exceedances observed for treated water. Of the 12,000 bacteriological water quality tests, there were only 5 samples that indicated potential bacteria presence, and immediate follow-up action eliminated the problem in subsequent testing results. To date, the new collection program appears to be successful in achieving our goals of reducing rising collection costs, addressing problems with respect to set-out and packaging requirements, and increasing recycling tonnage.
Regional staff continue to address concerns with the program.
Some residents have found the schedule difficult and confusing, that there is too much material to store for two weeks, and a fully loaded black box is too heavy to maneuver. In late August, a telephone poll was conducted to assess public acceptance of the program to date. I was particularly pleased to learn that residents continue to support programs that are designed to contain increasing costs and extend the life of our landfills. This two-day workshop is sponsored by the Region's Planning and Development Approvals Department in collaboration with the Community Mediation Centre and the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution, and is being offered free of charge to associations throughout the Region. Dates are November 26th and 27th.