In Ontario, if you are an owner or operating authority of certain systems that obtain its your own water from a well or surface water source, you have the responsibility to provide safe, clean, healthy drinking water under O. Reg. 252/05. Specifically, this law applies to large, non-residential (either municipal or non-municipal) and small municipal non-residential system owners or operating authorities in Ontario, BC, Canada. The purpose of this regulation is to protect public heath by ensuring that drinking water standards are met.

Please note that O. Reg. 252/05 does not apply to drinking water systems that supply water to designated facilities such as healthcare facilities, schools, etc. These authorities are subject to O. Reg. 170/03.

Summary of Ontario's O. Reg. 252-05

The specific requirements and responsibilities of O. Reg. 252-05 can be accessed in "Non-Residential and Non-Municipal Seasonal Residential Systems that Do Not Serve Designated Facilities Regulation (O.Reg. 252/05) and the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002" on the Internet www.e-laws.gov.on.ca. Once you have confirmed that this requirement applies to you and your drinking water system, you may be eligible to post signs.

  Eligible to Post Signs -- If you are eligible to post signs, the signs can indicate that either your water has been tested or that it has not been tested, in which case certain conditions must be met, including specific requirements for how to post the signs.

  Not Eligible to Post Signs - If you are not eligible to post signs or are eligible but choose not to post them, certain steps must be followed to ensure that your water is safe. These steps can be summarized as follows:

     * Select a Licensed Laboratory -- In order to do a water quality test, water samples must be provided to a government-approved lab that will assign your sample a number and send a written report of the results both to you and the government. These results must be received prior to making the drinking water available to the public.

     * How to Take Samples -- The proper techniques for collecting your water sample, frequency of taking samples, ensuring proper storing, temperature control, containers, and transporting the sample can be obtained by the lab.

     * Notifying the Government of Bad Test Results -- If the lab determines that your water contains E. coli or total coliforms, you must report the test results to the Ministry of the Environment both verbally (in person or via phone) and in written form within 24 hours after the verbal notification. The corrective action taken for E. coli is different than the corrective action required for coliforms.

     * Corrective Action -- If your water system receives an adverse water quality test result, specific corrective actions must be followed. The specific requirements for each contaminant can be found in Schedule 5 of O. Reg. 252/05.

     * Posting Warning Notices -- As a warning to the public, warning signs of the adverse test results must be posted in a location easily seen by the public and the government. The Ministry of the Environment can provide you the approved signage and wording for the warning notices.

     * Recordkeeping Requirements -- All test results must be retained for at least two years and made available to the public upon request. These same test results and all related documentation must be retained for the government for at least five years.

The water treatment system requirements imposed by the Ontario, BC, government demonstrate one way to ensure clean, safe, and healthy drinking water to the public. However, the specific system imposed by the government is not as important as the successful results of the system. The goal is to ensure that the public has clean drinking water and that public health is not compromised through unsafe water treatment systems.