Township staff and councillors are pleased with annual reports on Guelph-Eramosa’s water supply and distribution systems.
“Right now we have a very high-quality water coming out of our taps,” public works manager Ken Gagnon told council on Monday night.
The 2007 reports document the repairs and water quality in the township’s two water supply systems – Rockwood and Hamilton Drive – and in the Gazer Mooney Distribution System.
The Rockwood system consists of three wells, two in the Station Street pumphouse and one in the Bernardi pumphouse; a water tower; and a distribution system.
At the Bernardi well, there was a higher level of fluoride, which is naturally occurring in the area. Gagnon noted that the reading of 1.54milligrams of fluoride per one litre of water is “within tolerances” and not a concern.
At the Station Street pumphouse there was a higher than normal reading for sodium (3.19mg/l), but Gagnon said that too is nothing to worry about. It may be the result of treating the water with chlorine and sodium silicate before the it enters the distribution system.
Other than those two minor glitches, there were no other health exceedences found in the chemical or pesticide levels in the Rockwood system.
The Hamilton Drive system consists of two wells, two pumphouses, and one standpipe and distribution system. The system showed no health exceedences at either the Huntington or Cross Creek locations.
The Gazer Mooney Distribution System, which makes up less than one quarter of a percent of the Guelph system, also showed no health exceedences in water samples.
Councillor Doug Breen praised the results, but he also asked about residents’ complaints about perceived high levels of chlorine in the water in some areas.
Gagnon explained that chlorine readings at the farthest end of the township’s water systems must meet the regulations set out by the Safe Drinking Water Act.
That means that some residents who live closer to start of the distribution system may notice higher levels of chlorine in the water, but there’s little the township can do about it because it is regulated by the provincial agency.
Gagnon added the good thing about chlorine is that once the water is allowed to settle, the smell dissipates, and it’s usually just when a tap is first turned on that residents will notice the chlorine odour.
