“Can’t keep living like this”; BC interior water quality problems coming to a boiling point

A report was published in March 2015 from the Council of Canadians, titled On Notice for a Drinking Water Crisis in Canada, that looks into why BC has the most advisories of any other province. It was written by Emma Lui, who works as a water campaigner for the council.

Lui listed tar sands pipelines, tankers ships, companies that bottle water and dam and mining operations as the biggest threats to water systems. She made specific reference to the Northern Gateway and Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipelines, as well as the Site C dam.

But Dr. Madjid Mohseni, a University of British Columbia engineer and Scientific Director for the RES’EAU-WaterNET Strategic Network, argued in the Globe and Mail on March 16, 2015 that it has more to do with inadequate infrastructure and limited finances in small and rural communities.

He was quoted in the article, “For them to finance a water system that is going to provide consistent, good quality water, it is going to cost a lot of money per household. Some really simply don’t have the capacity to make any progress.”

Wolf Trelenberg, Elk Valley Trailer Park maintenance, says its pumphouse is run as a private utility, and fed from a 160-foot well near Cummings Creek.

One of the tenants, Karen Sturek, has lived in the trailer park since 1996, and says there’s been water issues off and on ever since then.

“I made a habit of only drinking my own tap water because I always thought our water was good. About ten years ago, I ended up with giardia, and I had to be treated,” said Sturek.

By definition from the Mayo Clinic, giardia infections are caused by microscopic parasites typically found “in areas with poor sanitation and unsafe water”.

The group pointed to other times when septic fluid could be seen bubbling from the ground in some areas of the trailer park due to improper septic tanks. The height of the residents concerns came when Interior Health confirmed there were nine coliforms present, which is a bacteria typically used to measure overall water quality that can originate from animal and human waste or occur naturally in groundwater.

According to Health Canada regulations, water with less than ten total coliforms is “marginally safe to drink”, but appropriate corrective action should be taken.

Now in 2016, the Elk Valley Trailer Park is still being affected.

“We had a water quality advisory on April 21 due to a sampling result… The water quality advisory actually was upgraded to a boil water notification on June 16. That was due to positive coliform samples,” Rob Birtles, team leader for Interior Health’s small water system infrastructure program, confirmed.

After a couple rounds of sampling, Birtles says no samples were picked up and that notification was then lifted on July 15 after a disinfecting flush.

However, the park had to be placed under a similar notification just one month later. “We sent an inspector out there to take a look around on August 10, and they also took some water samples. We picked up positive coliform counts again, and a boil water notification was put in place.”

That inspection resulted in recommendations to the water system owner, but the notification remains as of the date this article is published.

“It’s been stressful… People can’t keep living like this. I have other neighbours that are getting diarrhea,” said Sturek.

It has caused more than just health concerns for these tenants, though. Some have been instructed by doctors to use the water at a friend or relative’s home in Sparwood. It’s also been an added financial burden, one that many stated they can’t afford, to buy clean water to use in their homes.

Some of the other hardest hit include rural areas like Silver Creek, part of the Thompson, Cariboo and Shuswap region. The small village operates a water users’ community that can acquire, hold and control property and water licences. It’s been under a boil water advisory since 1990 for positive E. Coli results. Once again, Health Canada states that there should be a zero concentration of E. Coli in a 100mL sample, it’s very unsafe to drink and corrective actions should be taken immediately.

Birtles says the Interior Health Authority operates roughly 1,975 water systems, equivalent to around 34-per cent of BC’s permanent systems. At any given time, he says there are between 250 to 400 boil water notifications across the interior.

“The task of overseeing these systems is really complex. We actually have a limited number of staff to deal with these issues,” said Birtles. “We’re not in a good position to watch over all systems and prevent local areas compromised safety at any given time.”

Interior Health has four employees that audit around 125 large systems and another seven that handle the rest of the small ones. However, the health authority has started an education program for water operators to increase their knowledge base and empower them to make appropriate decisions on their own.

As part of Interior Health’s testing program, large systems pay for their own bacteriological and chemical samples. This is in accordance with submitted sampling plans that outline what lab is used, how many samples are taken and what that water system will do if positive counts are detected.

Smaller systems are expected to hand in a set number of tests as directed by similar sampling plans or another regulation. It’s usually four per month according to Birtles, the cost of which typically falls on the system operator. In recognition of the high cost, Interior Health has been financially sponsoring some small systems.

In terms of repairs, the cost falls on the owner of small and private systems, while local governments would be responsible in larger town and cities. Classes are also available to water system operators through Interior Health to help them create necessary emergency response and contingency plans.

On September 28, 2016, Premier Christy Clark announced $148.5-million for the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, which was introduced in the 2016 Government of Canada budget. Approved applications can receive 50-per cent of the cost from the federal government, 33-per cent from the province, with the local governments having to make up the remaining 17-per cent.

In an official statement on the funding announcement, Clark said improved water systems are core services that help communities grow, become more vibrant and resilient, and also ensure environmental sustainability.

“That granting process actually only affects water systems that are owned by local governments. So, this would be towns, villages and regional district owned water systems,” said Birtles. “Other governance models, that being water users communities, private utilities, joint water works, good neighbour systems, cannot access that funding without the support of the local government.”

Rick Pater, the man who sells mobile homes for the previously-mentioned Elk Valley Trailer Park, estimated that some water system issues could cost upwards of $10,000 to fix. That’s a cost he believes the park should be able to afford at this time. Several other grant programs are in place to offset repair and upgrade costs specifically for small systems. But when asked, Trelenberg wasn’t aware of grants to help with cost recovery.

Dr. Mohseni added that those grants may not necessarily be enough for more remote communities.

All of this has begged the question from many, is a national water policy the solution? Emma Lui certainly thinks so. On Notice for a Drinking Water Crisis in Canada concludes with a list of recommendations for a proposed policy that includes recognizing water as a human right, establishing national standards, creating a national public water infrastructure fund, among others.

While Dr. Mohseni agrees that health guidelines need to be the same across Canada, he firmly believes it wouldn’t be fair to have small communities on the same level of monitoring as large cities.

BC interior residents facing continued water quality issues have the following resolution options from Interior Health:

– contact your water system operator directly,
– contact a local Health Protection Office, asking for the Environmental Health Officer,
– request further investigations and sampling.

Both the BC Minster of Health, Terry Lake, and Premier Christy Clark refused an opportunity to comment, instead defering Lethbridge News Now to Interior Health.

by Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

“Can’t keep living like this”; BC interior water quality problems coming to a boiling point

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