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(T/EH011) Perspectives on Potable Groundwater Quality Monitoring in Rural Regions of the Canadian Prairies. McMartin, Dena1,2, Headley, John2, Gillies, Jon1, 1 2 ABSTRACT- Programs for monitoring groundwater quality are essential tools for helping to ensure the provision of safe drinking water. In rural areas of the Canadian Prairies, groundwater is often the only available potable source. However, these supplies are not as extensively monitored as surface supplies in urban regions. There appears to be a trend for economic constraints to significantly reduce the frequency and number of chemical contaminants analyses. In addition, for some rural areas key water quality parameters, including microbial assessments and trihalomethane measurements, are not recorded. This raises public concerns, particularly since the presence of a lethal strain of E.coli O157:H7 in potable water supplies was responsible for the 2000 outbreak in the rural town of Walkerton, Ontario, Canada. In comparison to regulations in the USA and Europe, the Canadian drinking water quality guidelines do not have the legal framework to enforce water quality management, monitoring, and treatment strategies. However, newly proposed legislative systems in the Canadian Prairies, are moving toward more enforcement and improved reporting procedures for monitoring the quality of potable surface and groundwater. Key words: potable groundwater, monitoring, rural Canada |
