CAEAL - AGM Nova Scotia s Approach to Drinking Water Quality Monitoring for Public Supplies. Judy MacDonald June 17, 2005

Transcription

1 CAEAL - AGM 2005 Nova Scotia s Approach to Drinking Water Quality Monitoring for Public Supplies Judy MacDonald June 17, 2005 Environment and Labour

2 Today s s Presentation Welcome to Halifax! Background Outline our approach to drinking water quality monitoring for public supplies Conclusions Questions

3 Background 1991 Clean Water Task Force Recommends ONE lead agency for water resource management Recommends new Act for regulatory oversight 1995 New Environment Act passed Lead agency for water regulation assigned to Nova Scotia Environment and Labour

4 Background (cont d) 1996 Water & Wastewater Regulations Mandatory Operator Certification 1997 to 1999 Drinking water quality monitoring transferred to municipalities Quicker public health response Owners acknowledge that they are responsible for water quality if they are doing the monitoring

5 Background (cont d) January 2000 Regulatory amendments issued for public review Regular drinking water quality monitoring Immediate notification and corrective action requirements Health-related Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality adopted as regulation Roles and responsibilities defined for owners, NSEL, Medical Officers of Health, laboratories in the Guidelines for Monitoring Public Drinking Water Supplies

6 Background (cont d) October 2000 Amendments effective Definition of a public drinking water supply is established [based on US EPA definition] At least 15 service connections or serves 25 or more individuals per day at least 60 days of the year includes: Approved systems (e.g. municipal) Registered systems (e.g. rural restaurants, daycares, schools, nursing homes, trailer parks, motels, campgrounds, provincial parks, etc.)

7 Background (cont d) November 2000 Policy for the Accreditation of Laboratories approved 2001/2002 Implementation of regulatory amendments and lab accreditation policy May 2002 Walkerton report released Recommends mandatory accreditation of laboratories for all testing parameters and all drinking water testing should be performed by accredited facilities only October 2002 A Drinking Water Strategy for Nova Scotia released

8 Purpose of the Drinking Water Strategy Clarify the roles and responsibilities for stakeholders Continue to implement the multiple-barrier approach to water management Keep it clean source protection Make it safe adequate water treatment and system operation Prove it s safe water quality monitoring and adverse event protocols

9 Lab Policy The policy established timelines for labs to meet accreditation standards for all analytical test results Policy objectives include: To achieve a high level of confident in the quality and reliability of analytical data submitted to NSEL To ensure that laboratory results are defensible and stand up to scrutiny in court To ensure that data received by NSEL are consistent with national and international standards

10 Lab Policy (cont d) Accreditation standards for all analytical testing except bacteria in drinking water Accreditation by the Standards Council of Canada Accreditation by another agency recognized as being equivalent by NSEL Acceptable standard in proficiency testing by CAEAL for all parameters being reported Acceptable standard in proficiency or performance testing in another program considered acceptable by NSEL for all parameters being reported

11 Lab Policy (cont d) Accreditation standards for analytical results for bacteria in drinking water Accreditation by the Standards Council of Canada Accreditation by another agency recognized as being equivalent by NSEL Provisions for interim measures

12 Lab Policy (cont d) Policy is being updated to be more generic Proposed change Laboratories to be accredited to ISO by an agency that: Meets the requirements of ISO (or until January 2006 its predecessor ISO Guide 58); and Is a full member signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.

13 Lab Policy (cont d) Policy applies to: Laboratories providing services directly to NSEL Clients, consultants and subcontractors submitting data in support of conditions of an approval, registration, order or regulations Some approvals allow process data to be analysed by on-line equipment or in-house lab Subject to a QA/QC program to validate measurements

14 Memoranda of Understanding The lab policy is supplemented with a formal MOU between each laboratory and NSEL The MOU requires the laboratory to immediately notify NSEL of any positive bacteria results for regulated public drinking water supplies Municipal public drinking water supplies Registered public drinking water supplies

15 MOUs (cont d) Labs are not required to report chemical exceedences Regulations require the owner to notify NSEL Owner is also responsible for corrective action Currently there is no mandated reporting for drinking water from private supplies This is under review

16 Current Situation Population of Nova Scotia ~ 940,000 ~ 508,000 people on municipal water ~ 432,000 people on private services Regulated public drinking water supplies ~ 89 municipal public drinking water supplies ~ 1,800 registered public drinking water supplies Private supplies ~ 180,000 private supplies

17 Water Quality Monitoring Municipal Public Drinking Water Supplies Weekly bacteria Chemical analyses per approved sampling plans Registered Public Drinking Water Supplies Quarterly monitoring for bacteria Select chemical parameters Once per year for surface water supplies Every two years for groundwater supplies

18 Water Quality Monitoring (cont d) Unregulated Private Drinking Water Supplies Recommended testing frequency not mandated Bacteria Every six months Chemical Once every two years Bacteria = Total coliform and E. coli Regulations allow for augmented monitoring for regulated supplies Parameters and frequency

19 Lab Services 14 approved laboratories in Nova Scotia 3 labs offer full services for bacteria and chemical analyses 1 lab offers bacteria and partial chemical analyses 10 labs offer bacteria testing Combination of private and public sector Public sector includes hospital labs and NSAC Municipalities Process labs and on-line equipment

20 Auditing of PDWS Municipal public drinking water supplies are audited twice a year Registered public drinking water supplies audited based on their risk assessment: High risk two audits per year (2%) Medium risk one audit per year (30%) Low risk one audit every two years (68%)

21 Auditing of Labs Current process Review SCC/CAEAL website Request accreditation update on ad hoc basis Request accreditation status and PT results on ad hoc basis Regular meetings with labs Monitor other programs Ontario licensing and site audits Alberta alternate program US EPA

22 Auditing of Labs (cont d) Future considerations Mandate test methods Formalize approval process Site visits Barriers to water testing for private supplies Access to bottles and the lab Interpretation of results

23 Other Initiatives Regulatory amendments issued for public review in March 2004 To implement the Drinking Water Strategy commitment that operator certificates be renewed based on the completion of continuing education The Guidelines for Monitoring Public Drinking Water Supplies are also being updated To clarify the roles and responsibilities of owners Simplified guidance material for registered public drinking water supplies

24 Drinking Water Quality Surveillance Program NSEL is pilot testing a drinking water quality surveillance program known as WaterTrax Water quality results are directly downloaded from the lab to the internet-based program Reduces data input error Data is available 24/7 from any location with internet access Data is available for all regulated supplies

25 Conclusions Nova Scotia s Approach to Drinking Water Quality Monitoring for Public Supplies is Effective Cooperative Non-confrontational Nova Scotia is committed to safe drinking water Safe drinking water is essential to the health and wealth of Canadians

26 Thank You For Your Time Please visit our website at: My Contact Information Judy MacDonald Tel: Fax: