Arsenic traces in water may cost town $6M

Shelburne is facing a major upgrade to its water wells due to expected changes in provincial standards under the Safe Water Drinking Act.

On Monday, Shelburne Council was advised that because of trace amounts of naturally occurring arsenic in its wells, the town's water will no longer be in compliance with the Act, when and if the new standards are implemented.

The proposed upgrade would provide $6 million in additional treatment for the town's water supply system to bring the water within limits set by the proposed new standard.

Council got the news from a contingent that included Dr. Douglas Kittle, Medical Health Officer for the Wellington-Dufferin- Guelph Health Unit, program director Scott Hutchison, Burnside and Associates project manager Michael O'Hara and Public Works director Larry McGregor,

"The water in Shelburne hasn't changed," said Mr. McGregor. "It's perfectly safe. It's the standards that are changing."

According to an article on Health Canada's website, arsenic "is a natural element found widely in the earth's crust. It may be found in some drinking water supplies, including wells ... There are trace amounts of arsenic in all living matter."

The current drinking water quality standard for arsenic level is 25 parts per billion (ppb) and Mr. McGregor says Shelburne's water currently registers levels between 1 and 21 ppb, depending on the time of year.

The new arsenic limit is expected to be 10 ppb, which means Shelburne will need the additional treatment for all six of its wells to stay in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act when the new standards are imposed by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE).

"Ontario drinking water standards are enforceable by law - you must lower even naturally occurring arsenic - that's down the road," Mr. O'Hara said during his presentation.

Dr. Kittle discussed with council the science used to determine standards.

"Water standards are constantly being assessed and reassessed," he said.

"Studies are being done globally and we now have the technology for more exact testing."

Shelburne is the largest of eight municipalities in the province identified as having a need for the additional treatment to deal with the arsenic level.

Mr. O'Hara said that in preparing for the changing drinking water standards, the Town needs to apply immediately to the province for a grant under the Rural Infrastructure Investment Initiative (RIII), a one-time $70- million fund intended to help rural communities provide safe and reliable local infrastructure.

Under RIII, funding is available to eligible municipalities for local roads and bridges, solid waste management, sports and recreation facilities, wastewater and clean water. Told the deadline for an application is next Monday (February 5), Council agreed to follow through with applying because of the project cost estimate.

Mayor Ed Crewson wasn't convinced Shelburne will succeed in getting money from the province for the project.

"I hope we have better luck with this grant than we did with COMRIF," said the mayor. "We have applied for numerous projects and have been turned down."

He said there is no guarantee the province would fund anything and the Town may be left trying to fund the project in whole or in part, simply because the standards change.

Health Canada acknowledges on its website the need for each level of government to share in the responsibility for providing safe drinking water and Health Canada establishes the guidelines. On its website it says arsenic is only one of many chemicals, that the guidelines are changing and it will continue to monitor, review and reflect new treatment methods to remove chemicals like arsenic from drinking water.