Should the federal government set minimums safety standards for all water distribution systems?
The answer is “Yes,” and must base decisions regarding standards on sound scientific information. For example in the new copy of the summary guidelines for Canadian Drinking water quality, (April 2003) A new (MAC) Maximum Acceptable Concentration for private supplies shall have no coliforms “detectable per 100ml”. Prior to this document Health Canada standards for total coliforms for decades have been 10 and is now zero. This information was detected only after reviewing the latest copy of the Canadian Drinking water quality guidelines summary. This clearly demonstrates a lack of consultation with local health units and the public. This example also demonstrates a lack of consistency with Recommendation #21 of O’Connor’s Inquiry Report requesting the process provide for greater transparency and open public participation. All guidelines need go through a open public consultation process which was previously based on science and established criteria. We would like the government to consu
