Office of Drinking Water
Objectives
Facilitate the continued safety and on-going improvement in the quality of Manitoba’s drinking water supplies.
Administer and enforce The Drinking Water Safety Act and the regulations, licences, permits, advisories and orders made under it.
Provide guidance, technical expertise, up-to-date information and educational materials about drinking water safety to water suppliers and the public.
Facilitate communication, cooperation and sharing of expertise between federal, provincial and local government departments and other agencies in relation to drinking water programs and practises.
Provide adequate, clear, concise, and publicly visible documentation of results.
Activity Identification
Continue the process of issuing and renewing operating licences for public and semi-public water systems, and monitoring compliance with terms and conditions of those operating licences. Most of Manitoba’s approximately 400 public water systems are already licenced and many are at the licence renewal stage. In 2016-17, there will be a continued focus on the licencing of semi-public water systems.
Review design plans and specifications for the construction or alteration of public and semi-public water systems to ensure compliance with guidelines and standards, issue permits for construction and alteration of public and semi-public water systems and monitor compliance with the terms and conditions of those permits.
Monitor the continued safety of public and semi-public water system operations by:
- Reviewing water quality data to identify potential public health concerns and compliance issues, and ensuring water system owners and operators are sampling and testing as required.
- Conducting routine and unscheduled inspections of public and semi-public water systems, identifying and discussing issues of concern with water system owners and operators, and issuing inspection reports.
- Issuing annual audits for public water systems identifying compliance with drinking water quality and treatment standards, and with the terms and conditions of their operating licence.
Work with regional Medical Officers of Health to issue boil water advisories, drinking water avoidance advisories or water quality advisories in a timely fashion to ensure the public are aware of potential risks to their health, and work with water system owners to facilitate actions that address potential risks to public health and allow advisories to be rescinded.
Facilitate on-going improvements in the quality of Manitoba’s public water supplies by:
- Reviewing drinking water quality data and compliance statistics, prioritizing non-compliance issues on a province-wide basis, and developing and implementing strategies to facilitate compliance that address the most significant potential public health risks on a priority basis.
- Developing and implementing a strong, consistent and progressive enforcement strategy that is prioritized on the basis of public health risk and reduction of long-term boil water advisories.
- Reviewing and approving compliance plans for water systems that are out of compliance with drinking water quality and treatment standards, and working with individual water system owners to develop strategies to address non-compliance issues on a priority basis.
- Reviewing the processes for assessments of water system infrastructure and water supply sources in an effort to streamline them and improve their utility in assisting water system owners and operators in improving the safety and reliability of their systems.
Continue to improve the technical support and information available to an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 private well owners in Manitoba.
Work with the federal government on improving database management systems that increase work process efficiency and facilitate tracking and reporting of water system information, including water quality data and compliance statistics.
Continue to work with Manitoba Health to develop or finalize policies related to the issuance of boil water advisories and water quality advisories and notices, the registration of non-potable systems, the application of water quality standards to semi-public water systems and the adoption of new or updated national guidelines.
Provide input into the development of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality and represent the Department on various national committees and organizations to ensure proactive responses to emerging issues.
Provide input into the coordination and delivery of operator training and certification programs through participation in the Certification Advisory Committee established under The Environment Act (Water and Wastewater Facility Operators Regulation).
Participate in the development of integrated watershed management and wellhead protection initiatives to protect source water quality.
Provide technical support for emergency responses to environmental accidents and natural disasters with potential to affect drinking water quality.
Expected Results
Public and semi-public water systems are designed, constructed, operated and monitored in a manner that complies with legislative requirements and helps to ensure the continued safety of Manitoba’s drinking water supplies.
Boil water advisories are issued in a timely fashion so the public is aware of potential risks to health.
Public and semi-public water system owners have access to information, including guidelines, protocols, bulletins and fact sheets that help to keep them up-to-date and to understand and implement regulatory requirements.
The public have access to water quality data and other information that allows them to assess the safety of the water they get from suppliers, and helps to ensure their continued confidence in the safety of that water.
Manitobans relying on private wells have access to easy-to-understand information that allows them to manage the risks associated with their wells.
Manitoba provides input into the development of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality and new issues or parameters of concern are assessed on a regular basis.
