Guidance for Providing Safe Drinking Water in Areas of Federal Jurisdiction
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Guidance for Providing Safe Drinking Water in Areas of Federal Jurisdiction Version 2 Health Canada is the federal department responsible for helping the people of Canada maintain and improve their health. We assess the safety of drugs and many consumer products, help improve the safety of food, and provide information to Canadians to help them make healthy decisions. We provide health services to First Nations people and to Inuit communities. We work with the provinces to ensure our health care system serves the needs of Canadians. Published by authority of the Minister of Health. Guidance on Providing Safe Drinking Water in Areas of Federal Jurisdiction. Version 2 is available on Internet at the following address: www.healthcanada.gc.ca Également disponible en français sous le titre : Conseils pour un approvisionnement en eau potable salubre dans les secteur de compétence fédérale, version 2 This publication can be made available on request in a variety of alternative formats. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Health, 2013 This publication may be reproduced without permission provided the source is fully acknowledged. Pub. Number: 130373 Cat.: H128-1/05-440-1E-PDF ISBN: 978-1-100-22757-3 Guidance for Providing Safe Drinking Water in Areas of Federal Jurisdiction Version 2 Prepared by the Interdepartmental Working Group on Drinking Water Health Canada Ottawa, Ontario May 2013 This document may be cited as follows: Health Canada (2013). Guidance on Providing Safe Drinking Water in Areas of Federal Jurisdiction. Version 2, Water and Air Quality Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (Catalogue No. H128-1/05-440-1E-PDF). The document was prepared by the Interdepartmental Working Group on Drinking Water. Any questions or comments on this document may be directed to: Water and Air Quality Bureau Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch Health Canada 269 Laurier Avenue West, Address Locator 4903D Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0K9 Tel.: 613-948-2566 Fax: 613-952-2574 E-mail: [email protected] Other documents concerning Canadian drinking water quality can be found on the following website: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/waterquality Guidance for providing safe drinking water in areas of federal jurisdiction ii Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Interdepartmental Working Group on Drinking Water (IWGDW) .................................... 2 Interdepartmental Water Quality Training Board ............................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5 Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 6 Scope ................................................................................................................................. 6 Organization ........................................................................................................................ 7 Part 1. The Federal Framework .................................................................................................. 8 1.0 Setting the stage................................................................................................................. 8 1.1 The multi-barrier approach to safe drinking water ................................................. 8 1.2 Jurisdictional issues ................................................................................................ 8 1.2.1 Leased properties ........................................................................................ 9 1.3 Types of water supplies and systems ...................................................................... 9 2.0 Federal legislation and policies ........................................................................................ 9 2.1 The Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality .......................................... 9 2.2 The Canada Labour Code .................................................................................... 10 2.3 Other related federal legislation ............................................................................ 10 2.3.1 Food and Drugs Act .................................................................................. 11 2.3.2 National Defence Act ................................................................................ 11 2.3.3 Corrections and Conditional Release Act ................................................. 11 2.4 Occupational Health and Safety Directive - Part IX (Sanitation) ......................... 11 2.5 Roles and responsibilities in the federal jurisdiction ............................................ 12 2.6 Due diligence ........................................................................................................ 12 Part 2 - Application of the Federal Framework ....................................................................... 13 3.0 Developing a monitoring program ................................................................................ 13 3.1 Selecting a source for drinking water ................................................................... 13 3.2 Vulnerabilities assessment .................................................................................... 13 3.2.1 Delineation of watersheds and aquifers ................................................... 14 3.2.2 Identifying source water hazards .............................................................. 14 3.2.3 Susceptibility to contamination................................................................. 15 3.3 Sanitary survey...................................................................................................... 15 Table 3.1 Elements of a sanitary survey ............................................................ 15 3.4 Microbiological quality ......................................................................................... 16 3.5 Baseline chemical analysis ................................................................................... 16 3.6 Establishing a monitoring program ....................................................................... 17 3.6.1 Disinfection by-products ........................................................................... 17 3.7 Case-specific guidance.......................................................................................... 17 3.7.1 Groundwater supplies ............................................................................... 17 Guidance on providing safe drinking water in areas of federal jurisdiction ii 3.7.2 Municipally-supplied drinking water systems .......................................... 17 3.7.3 Staff quarters ............................................................................................. 18 4.0 Microbiological considerations and monitoring .......................................................... 18 4.1 Monitoring frequency ........................................................................................... 19 Table 4.1 Default monitoring frequency and locations ........................................ 19 4.1.1 Conditions for reducing monitoring frequency ............................................ 20 Box 4.1: Conditions for reduced monitoring frequencies in very small and micro systems .................................................................................................................. 20 Table 4.2 Reduced monitoring for very small systems - continuous supply ....... 20 Table 4.3 Reduced monitoring for very small systems - seasonal supply ........... 22 Table 4.4 Reduced monitoring for micro-systems - continuous supply .............. 23 Table 4.5 Reduced monitoring for micro-systems - seasonal supply .................. 24 4.2 Sampling locations ................................................................................................ 25 4.3 Facilities that receive municipal drinking water ................................................... 25 4.4 Interpreting results ................................................................................................ 25 4.4.1 Indicator organisms ................................................................................... 25 4.4.2 Heterotrophic plate count .......................................................................... 27 4.4.3 Turbidity ................................................................................................... 27 4.5 Disinfection targets ............................................................................................... 28 5.0 Treatment and distribution systems.............................................................................. 29 5.1 Design of drinking water treatment systems ......................................................... 29 5.1.1 Continuous monitoring and automated systems ....................................... 29 5.1.2 Surface water intakes ................................................................................ 29 5.1.3 Treatment options ..................................................................................... 30 5.2 Distribution