Abstract
The provision of safe drinking water in Ontario’s small non-community drinking water systems (SDWSs) poses a challenge for many system owners. Our study aims at developing a sustainable operation model for SDWSs by recognizing the importance of source water protection. Although the current literature on Ontario’s SDWSs is limited, the review of the existing water management strategies in Canada and across the world provided fruitful results to create a unique model for Ontario’s SDWSs using the Multiple-Barrier Approach framework. Our sustainable operation model consists of five main components: 1. Commitment to providing safe drinking water; 2. Assessment of the system and source water; 3. System operation and operator training; 4. Management of incidents and emergencies; 5. Communication and raising awareness. Our model addresses the areas that need more attention for today, and in the future, such as protecting source water, financial stability enhanced communication and increased awareness. A sustainable operation model for SDSWs based on the Multiple-Barrier Approach framework addresses the shortcomings of the current water management framework for SDWSs and offers a viable strategy to establish a sustainable operation model with an integrated approach.
Highlights
Public awareness surrounding access to safe drinking water has increased considerably since the Walkerton tragedy in 2000, yet strategies to establish a sustainable operation model for Ontario’s small non-community drinking water systems (SDWSs) have not been fully developed
In Ontario, there are over 9000 SDWSs providing drinking water to the public with no connection to a community drinking water system; most are located in rural areas (MOHLTC, 2015; Pons et al, 2014)
SDWSs are mostly located in rural areas with limited financial and operational capacity, and they require special consideration to ensure the provision of safe drinking water
Summary
Public awareness surrounding access to safe drinking water has increased considerably since the Walkerton tragedy in 2000, yet strategies to establish a sustainable operation model for Ontario’s small non-community drinking water systems (SDWSs) have not been fully developed. A key initiative to safeguard drinking water sources in Ontario, the planning for source water protection, does not include SDWSs. There is no universal or Canada-wide definition of an SDWS due to significant differences in the assessment of system parameters (NCCPH, 2015). In Ontario, SDWSs are defined as systems that make drinking water available to the public and are not connected to a community drinking water system (MOHLTC, 2015). As a significant portion of the users is transient populations, it is difficult to get accurate and precise estimates of the percentage of the public using SDWSs. community water systems and SDWSs face similar challenges to provide safe drinking water, SDWSs typically have fewer resources to overcome these challenges (Murphy et al, 2016b)
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