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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-2022-039 - Summary Water Report - 2021 Infrastructure Services Department www.kitchener.ca REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: March 7, 2022 SUBMITTED BY: Greg St. Louis, Director, Gas & Water Utilities, 519-741-2600 ext. 4538 PREPARED BY: Angela Mick, Manager, Quality Management and Water Programs, 519-741-2600 ext. 4408 WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward(s) DATE OF REPORT: January 20, 2022 REPORT NO.: INS-2022-039 SUBJECT: Summary Water Report - 2021 RECOMMENDATION: That the 2021 City of Kitchener Summary Drinking Water Report be received for information as required by O.Reg. 170/03 Schedule 22 of the Safe Drinking water Act; and, further that the City of Kitchener provide a copy of the Summary Drinking Water Report to the Township of Woolwich and the City of Waterloo as required by Schedule 22 of O.Reg. 170/03. REPORT HIGHLIGHTS: The key finding of this report is that the City of Kitchener is in compliance with regulatory water sampling requirements of the reporting period of January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. There are no financial implications of this report. The report supports the delivery of core services. BACKGROUND: As outlined in Schedule 22 of the Drinking Water Systems Regulation (O.Reg.170/03) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002, a Summary Report is to be prepared and given to the members of the municipal council. The following information is required to be included in this report: the system failed to meet at any time during the period covered by the report and specify the duration of the failures; and *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. (b) for each failure referred to in (a), describe the measures that were taken to correct the failure. The report must also include a summary of the quantities and flow rates of the water supplied during the period covered by the report. REPORT: The following matters are reported to Council in accordance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act, for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2021: The Kitchener Distribution System is part of an Integrated Urban System, meaning the Regional Municipality of Waterloo is responsible for water treatment and the development and operation of a trunk water network to distribute treated water to Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo, Woolwich, and Wilmot. The Region provides annual summaries for each supply and the information is available on their website with a link from the Kitchener Utilities (KU) website. Reports from the connected systems have been or will be received. A portion of Kitchener (River Ridge area) is supplied by the City of Waterloo. Kitchener supplies water to a small section of Waterloo (Ira Needles area) and water travels through the Kitchener distribution system to Breslau. The City of water quality report is available on their website. The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) completed an annual inspection on June 22, 2021, which covered June 30, 2020 to June 22, 2021. There were no non-compliances found. There were 3,612 chlorine residual samples taken and 1,760 bacteriological samples taken within the distribution system. Of these, there were 21 Adverse Water Quality Incidents (A time period (see Table 1) and all resamples were clear. The City was on a ministry approved reduced sampling schedule for a portion of 2021 due to COVID access restrictions on many sampling sites. An AWQI does not necessarily mean that the water is a risk to the customer. It means that a potential problem has been identified and corrective actions must be taken to resolve the problem. City staff work with ministry staff and the local public health unit to resolve the issue, which generally includes resampling. Low chlorine AWQIs can occur in areas of new subdivisions with no houses yet built. Along with dead end watermains, KU proactively flushes areas with new watermains until there are homes built and water is being used. Dead end watermain and new development flushing is a proactive approach to increase the levels of chlorine in the distribution system. The water is initially disinfected (primary disinfection) at the treatment plant and sufficient chlorine is added to protect the water from microbiological contamination as it travels through the pipes in the distribution system (secondary disinfection). Low chlorine does not pose a threat to human health; to have an impact to human health, there must be microbiological contamination and no, or extremely low, chlorine. Of the total coliform AWQIs (17 total): o Eight (8) were at temporary sampling locations within reconstruction projects. Temporary watermains are particularly sensitive as they are above ground systems influenced by the water heating up in warmer temperatures. This may increase the potential for bacteriological growth. Warmer weather seems to increase the incidences of Total Coliform. The additional challenge with temporary watermains is the sample port is located outside and subject to unsanitary conditions. Many contractors remove the sampling ports when not in use because they are subject to vandalism/theft. These ports need to be maintained in a sanitary condition between uses. The general nature of reconstruction pro received are more reflective of what is on the sampling tap, rather than what is in the water. Every positive result is reportable, and resampling must occur in accordance with regulations. When the resamples are clear, it is an indication that the issue was with the sampling port, not in the water. o Eight (8) were related to commissioning on a specific project. o The presence of total coliform on a test does not necessarily mean the water is unsafe to drink. Coliform bacteria can be found in many different environments. There are several different strains of coliform bacteria. Most are other disease-causing organisms, and their detection would prompt further investigation and/or corrective action. It is different than E.coli, which is a bacteria only associated with human or animal faecal matter. o When total coliform is found, a resample is done using a different technique, which provides a number of total coliforms to analyze in consultation with Public Health and the MECP. Based on a risk assessment of a number of factors including the coliform count, chlorine residuals, and upstream/downstream coliform counts, the requirement for a boil water advisory is determined. in fall 2019 for installation of a manganese treatment system, which is anticipated to decrease discoloured water issues in the surrounding area. The station upgrades were complete and returned to service in late 2021. Table 1 Adverse Water Quality Incident Summary January 1 to December 31, 2021 # Adverse Type AWQI Date AWQI # Site Name Site Results/Notes (verbal) Location 1 Low chlorine Feb 10 153549 Hydrant 11185 Otterbein & Free=0.00mg/L Lackner Total=0.01mg/L New development 2 Total Coliform June 1 154179 Guelph St SP1 18 Total Coliform Present Temporary Main Englewood Present 3 Total Coliform June 2 154198 Guelph ST SP1 18 Total Coliform = 2 resample Temporary Main Englewood 4 Low Chlorine June 11 154272 KID 122 2260 Shirley Free=0.04mg/L Dr Total=0.09mg/L Combined =0.05mg/L Bulk water fill was out of service 5 Low Chlorine June 14 154291 KID 136 40 Pioneer F=0.02mg/L Dr Circle K T=0.24mg/L C=0.22mg/L 6 Total Coliform June 15 154307 Guelph St SP3 680 Total Coliform present Temporary Main Guelph Present 7 Total Coliform July 1 154484 Guelph St SB2B lot 151 Total Coliform present Temporary Main Present 8 Total Coliform July 7 154560 Ottawa & Weber SP4-206 Total Coliform present St Temporary Ottawa St N Present Main 9 Total Coliform July 14 154646 Heiman St SP3A 124 Total Coliform present Temporary Main present 10 Total Coliform July 16 154703 Hydrant @ 257 SP5 257 Total Coliform = 1 present Ottawa St N 11 Total Coliform July 17 154730 Hydrant @ 299 SP6 299 Total Coliform = 9 present Ottawa St N 12 Total Coliform July 18 154754 Hydrant @ 257 SP5 257 Total Coliform = 1 present Ottawa St N 13 Total Coliform July 20 154762 KID 116 19 Forest Total Coliform present Creek Dr present 14 Total Coliform July 22 154809 Hydrant @ 299 SP6 299 Total Coliform = 7 present Ottawa St N 15 Total Coliform July 23 154828 Hydrant @ 299 SP6 299 Total Coliform =6 present Ottawa St N 16 Total Coliform July 25 154837 Hydrant @ 299 SP6 299 Total Coliform = 2 present Ottawa St N 17 Total Coliform July 28 154870 Hydrant @ 299 SP6 299 Total Coliform = 2 Present Ottawa St N 18 Total Coliform July 30 154924 Hydrant @ 299 SP6 299 Total Coliform = 1 Present Ottawa St N 19 Total Coliform September 155529 Pattandon Ave SP1 358 Total Coliform Present 16 Temporary Main present 20 Total Coliform September 155754 Pattandon Ave SP1 358 Total Coliform Present 30 Temporary Main present 21 Low Chlorine December 157499 KID 128 1405 King St F=0.03mg/L 31 E T=0.26mg/L C=0.23mg/L A summary of the quantities of the water supplied by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo during the period covered by the report is noted in Table 2. Overall water volumes were consistent with 2020 volumes; however, there are some monthly differences largely due to weather. Table 2 - Kitchener Distribution System Volume of Water Conveyed from the Region of Waterloo Supply System 2020 Monthly 2021 Monthly Average Variance from 3 Total (m3) DayTotal (m)Previous Year January 1,757,181 56,683 1,728,6132% February 1,608,412 57,443 1,618,856-1% March 1,797,763 57,992 1,759,2792% April 1,741,837 58,061 1,699,6382% May 2,050,462 66,144 1,933,1796% June 2,058,790 68,626 1,997,4713% July 1,978,721 63,830 2,226,319-11% August 2,043,450 65,918 2,061,432-1% September 1,819,106 60,637 1,870,697-3% October 1,809,145 58,360 1,812,7830% November 1,723,132 57,438 1,717,3980% December 1,790,483 57,758 1,754,0892% Purchases from Waterloo 157,983 159,983-1% Total 22,336,466 22,339,7370% STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT: This report supports the delivery of core services. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Capital Budget The recommendation has no impact on the Capital Budget. Operating Budget The recommendation has no impact on the Operating Budget. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM the council / committee meeting. Water quality information is posted on the Kitchener Utilities website. PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES: There are no previous reports/authorities related to this matter, however the summary reports are provided on an annual basis wit the last report being INS-21-003. APPROVED BY: Denise McGoldrick, General Manager, Infrastructure Services.