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

Adverse Water Quality Incident Report

Location:
Sturgeon Creek School, 6.5 km north of Barwick, in Shenston Township, Rainy River District.

Incident Resolution:
Drinking Water Advisory was rescinded on June 22, 2006, after two resamples contained sodium in concentrations below 20 mg/L.

Type of water source:
Groundwater

Population served:
Approximately 175 students plus 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 @ 37.4 mg/L (limit is 20 mg/L)

Resampling details and results:
Resample collected on May 15, 2006.
Resample result @ 12.5 mg/L.
Second resample collected on June 12, 2005.
Second resample result @ 11 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):
Elevated concentrations of sodium are mainly a concern to individuals on sodium-reduced diets.

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.

The system has never been inspected by the MOE.

Water samples collected from the Sturgeon Creek School drinking-water system on August 25, 2005, contained high general bacteria populations, as measured on a heterotrophic plate count (i.e., HPC). 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 August 29, 2005.

A Certificate of Approval is not required for this system.