The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) conducted an unannounced compliance inspection of the Fairfield drinking water system on June 1. The system complied with all applicable requirements, and results were shared with council at their Sept. 11 meeting.

The MECP is required, under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA,) to conduct an annual inspection of each municipality's waterworks in Ontario. There are two types of inspections: detailed and focused. At the Fairfield drinking water system, the inspector conducted a focused inspection for the period of July 26, 2022, to June 1, 2023.

According to staff's report, the inspection involved fewer activities than usual in a detailed inspection, but still contained key components. There was a physical inspection of the drinking water system components, along with interviews and a review of operational data. The inspection examined compliance with multiple permits, the municipal drinking water license, as well as MECP legislation.

Coun Paul Proderick noted the hard work in achieving a perfect rating.

"The final inspection rating of 100 per cent, I hope that makes it out on social media because I know in 30 years of education, I didn't see too many 100 per cents," said Proderick.

The inspection report confirmed that the operations of the Fairfield drinking water system meet its regulatory requirements. These requirements included operations monitoring, sampling requirements, operator certification, instrumentation practices, calibration of flow measuring devices, and contingency/emergency planning.

According to staff's report, the results will be discussed with operators, supervisors, and management at the end of the year. Results will also be mentioned in the annual drinking water system report for 2023. A copy of the compliance inspection report is available to members of the public upon request.

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