Location: Ministry Home > Water > Adverse Water Quality Incident Reports > Report

Adverse Water Quality Incident Report

Location:
Nestor Falls Public School, 56 km north of highway 11, on highway 71, Rainy River District

Incident Resolution:
Pending

Type of water source:
Groundwater

Population served:
Approximately 40 children and staff

Water works owned/operated by:
Rainy River District School Board
System class: Small non-municipal non-residential, designated facility

Date MOE notified and by whom:
May 12, 2006, by lab and operator

Date MOH notified and by whom:
May 12, 2006, by lab and operator

Date of First Sample(s):
May 8, 2006

Who conducted the sampling?:
Operator

Why was sampling initiated?:
Routine sampling

Sample contaminant details:
Elevated concentration of sodium @ 47.8 mg/L (limit is 20 mg/L)

Resampling details and results:
Resample collected on May 15, 2006.
Resample results @ 47.9 mg/L.

MOE Role:
Ministry staff will continue to work closely with the local Health Unit and the Rainy River District School Board 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):
The source for the drinking water is a drilled well. Raw water is softened using potassium chloride and then treated by cartridge filtration, ultra violet primary disinfection and sodium hypochlorite secondary disinfection.

Extensive upgrades to the well were completed in November, 2005, to improve raw water quality of the Nestor Falls School Well Supply. Upgrades included filling fractures in the well casing, and re-drilling the well to a greater depth.

The system was inspected by the MOE on January 9, 2006. Several non-compliance items were noted during the inspection including: lack of adequate primary disinfection, lack of trained staff, missed bacteriological samples, missed chemical samples, lack of weekly flushing records and improper chemical storage.

A precautionary Boil Water Advisory was issued to the Nestor Falls School on January 18, 2006, due to improper primary disinfection of the drinking-water supply. The Advisory remains in effect. Upgrades to the treatment system were completed in April, 2006. The Boil Water Advisory will be lifted once an Engineering Evaluation Report has been completed.

A Boil Water Advisory was issued to the Nestor Falls School on October 28, 2005, due to the presence of fecal coliform and total coliform bacteria in a drinking-water sample. The advisory was rescinded on November 17, 2005, after resample results confirmed that bacteria had been eliminated from the drinking-water system and the water was safe to consume.

High general bacteria populations, measured on a heterotrophic plate count (i.e., HPC), were found in the Nestor Falls drinking-water system on February 28, 2005. Corrective actions were initiated immediately and involved increasing chlorine levels, flushing lines, and collecting resamples for HPC analysis. Resample results confirmed the absence of bacteria; the issue was resolved on March 7, 2005.

A Certificate of Approval is not required for this system.