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Source Water Protection
Source Water Protection is a planning process conducted by local water utilities, as well as regional or national government agencies, to protect drinking water sources from overuse and contamination. The process includes identification of water sources, assessment of known and potential threats of contamination, notification of the public, and steps to eliminate the contamination. The process is applicable to lakes, rivers and groundwater (aquifers). Canada Source water protection is part of a multi-barrier approach to protecting municipal sources of drinking water that was recommended by the Canadian Justice Dennis O'Connor in his Walkerton reports. This study was released in 2002 as a response to the Walkerton Tragedy, in which the town of Walkerton, Ontario's drinking water became contaminated with '' E. coli'' bacteria. United States The Safe Drinking Water Act requires each state to delineate the boundaries of areas that public water systems use for their sources of drinking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drinking Water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, age, health-related issues, and environmental conditions. This 2004 article focuses on the USA context and uses data collected from the US military. Recent work showed that the most important driver of water turnover which is closely linked to water requirements is energy expenditure. For those who work in a hot climate, up to a day may be required. Typically in developed countries, tap water meets drinking water quality standards, even though only a small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation. Other typical uses for tap water include washing, toilets, and irrigation. Greywater may also be used for toilets or irrigation. Its use for irrigation however may be associated with risks. Water may also be unacceptable due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multi-barrier Approach
The Multi-barrier approach is a key paradigm for ensuring safe drinking water in jurisdictions such as Ontario, elsewhere in Canada, and New Zealand. It is defined as, An integrated system of procedures, processes and tools that collectively prevent or reduce the contamination of drinking water from source to tap in order to reduce risks to public health. In Part 2 of his report on the Walkerton Tragedy, Justice Dennis O'Connor discusses five elements of the multi-barrier approach: # Source water protection—Taking action to minimize adverse impacts on source waters reduces the risk from pathogens and chemical pollutants in that water, and can also reduce the degree of treatment required. # Robust water treatment—Having treatment trains with more than one step provides redundancy against treatment failure. # A secure water supply network—Providing a disinfectant residual to the extreme points of the distribution system protects against water quality degradation and microbial i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis O'Connor (judge)
Dennis R. O'Connor, was the Associate Chief Justice of Ontario from 2001–2012 and sat on the Court of Appeal for Ontario from 1998–2012. O'Connor attended De La Salle College and Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Toronto. He practised law from 1973 until 1976. From 1976 to 1980 he became a teacher at the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law and from there went to practise litigation at Borden, Elliot in Toronto. He was a negotiator for the Government of Canada in the Yukon land claim debate. He was eventually appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1998 and was elevated to Associate Chief Justice of Ontario in 2001. He was appointed Commissioner in the Walkerton Inquiry in 2000, and was Commissioner in the Maher Arar Inquiry from 2004 to 2006. On August 12, 2013, Toronto police chief Bill Blair announced that he had requested O'Connor conduct an internal review into the use of force by police. On June 30, 2016, O'Connor was made an Offic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walkerton Tragedy
The Walkerton ''E. coli outbreak'' was the result of a contamination of the drinking water supply of Walkerton, Ontario, Canada, with '' E. coli'' and ''Campylobacter jejuni'' bacteria. The water supply was contaminated as a result of improper water treatment following heavy rainfall in late April and early May 2000, that had drawn bacteria from the manure of nearby cattle used to fertilize crops into the shallow aquifer of a nearby well. The first reported case was on May 17. The contamination caused gastroenteritis and sickened more than 2,000 people and resulted in six deaths. Subsequently, Associate Chief Justice of Ontario, Dennis O'Connor launched an inquiry into the outbreak, called the ''Walkerton Inquiry''. Walkerton Public Utilities Commission operators Stan and Frank Koebel, neither of whom had any formal training, were sentenced on December 20, 2004, after pleading guilty to charges of common nuisance stemming from the contamination—Stan to one year in jail, and Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safe Drinking Water Act
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public. Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water suppliers that implement the standards. The SDWA applies to every public water system (PWS) in the United States. There are currently over 148,000 public water systems providing water to almost all Americans at some time in their lives. The Act does not cover private wells (in 2020, 13% of US households were served by private wells). The SDWA does not apply to bottled water. Bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations The SDWA requires EPA to establish ''National Primary Drinking Water Regulations'' (NPDWRs) for contaminants that may cause adverse public h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Water System
Public water system is a regulatory term used in the United States and Canada, referring to certain utilities and organizations providing drinking water. United States The US Safe Drinking Water Act and derivative legislation define "public water system" as an entity that provides " water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances to at least 15 service connections or serves an average of at least 25 people for at least 60 days a year." The term "public" in "public water system" refers to the people drinking the water, not to the ownership of the system. Some US states (e.g. New York) have varying definitions. Over 286 million Americans get their tap water from a community water system. Eight percent of the community water systems—large municipal water systems—provide water to 82 percent of the US population. Subcategorization The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has defined three types of public water systems: * Community Water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watershed Management
Watershed management is the study of the relevant characteristics of a watershed aimed at the sustainable distribution of its resources and the process of creating and implementing plans, programs and projects to sustain and enhance watershed functions that affect the plant, animal, and human communities within the watershed boundary. Features of a watershed that agencies seek to manage to include water supply, water quality, drainage, stormwater runoff, water rights and the overall planning and utilization of watersheds. Landowners, land use agencies, stormwater management experts, environmental specialists, water use surveyors and communities all play an integral part in watershed management. Controlling pollution In agricultural systems, common practices include the use of buffer strips, grassed waterways, the re-establishment of wetlands, and forms of sustainable agriculture practices such as conservation tillage, crop rotation and inter-cropping. After certain practices a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. These systems are what supply drinking water to populations around the globe. Aspects of service quality include continuity of supply, water quality and water pressure. The institutional responsibility for water supply is arranged differently in different countries and regions (urban versus rural). It usually includes issues surrounding policy and regulation, service provision and standardization. The cost of supplying water consists, to a very large extent, of fixed costs (capital costs and personnel costs) and only to a small extent of variable costs that depend on the amount of water consumed (mainly energy and chemicals). Almost all service providers in the world charge tariffs to recover part of their costs. Water supply is a separate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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