Adverse Water Quality Incident Report

Location:
Chomitsa Trailer Park, Highway 17 Dryden, Ontario

Incident Resolution:
Pending. The Northwestern Health Unit issued a water advisory on April 19, 2005

The Water Advisory cautions against: drinking, handwashing, bathing/showering, brushing teeth, cooking and washing vegetables.

Type of water source:
Ground water supply. The system uses chlorination for disinfection; filtration and water softening are not provided.

Population served:
Approximately 49 trailers and 4 houses

Water works owned/operated by:
Owned by Chomitsa Trailer Park
Operated by Chomitsa Trailer Park
Non-Municipal Year Round Residential

Date MOE notified and by whom:
April 18, 2005 by Laboratory

Date MOH notified and by whom:
April 18, 2005 by Laboratory

Date of First Sample(s):
March 30, 2005

Who conducted the sampling?:
Owner

Why was sampling initiated?:
Sampling as per O. Reg. 170/03

Sample contaminant details:
Uranium - 0.081 mg/l first sample
Drinking Water Quality Standard - 0.02 mg/l

Resampling details and results:
Resampled on April 8 , 2005 Uranium - 0.077 mg/L

MOE Role:
Field Response - At the request of the Health Unit, Ministry staff collected a sample on April 20, 2005, and submitted it for radionuclide analysis.

The local Health Unit and Ministry staff will continue to work closely with the owner of the system to protect public health, and to ensure that a safe potable water supply is maintained for the users of this system.

Background (if there is a history of the site):
Elevated concentrations of uranium were found in drinking water samples taken on November 5th and November 18th of 2003.

The drinking water system is currently under a drinking water advisory issued by the Northwestern Health Unit. This drinking water advisory was issued in reaction to the high levels of naturally occurring sodium in the treated water.