Watermark > Spring 2002 > Features: Protection of Drinking Water ‘to increase’
Features
- Drinking Water Protection: Where are we at?—Rick Corbett, BCWWA President
- Fire Hydrants: Life Safety and Life Threatening?—Doug Dolan, Cross Connection Control Chair
- Dewaterability of Thermophilically Digested Biosolids—Jim Zhou, Don Mavinic, and Harlan Kelly
- Full Cost Pricing, Accounting for Water and Sewage Services Contained in New Safe Water Legislation Introduced in Ontario
- New Arsenic Limit of 10 Parts Per Billion Now Law in USA
- Protection of Drinking Water ‘to increase’—Scott Simpson
- Tenth Anniversary of The Rice Cake Race
Protection of Drinking Water ‘to increase’
By Scott Simpson
The BC government’s commitment to protection of drinking water will increase in spite of a 24 percent cut in the water, land and air protection budget, according to its minister, Joyce Murray. However, Murray said ministry staff will no longer respond to routine complaints from the public about wild animals showing up in populated areas, and environmental staff will no longer respond to reports of “low-risk” spills of hazardous materials.
The province will also consider removing services in about 50 of the province’s smallest and least-used parks, and is looking at striking business relationships with entrepreneurs who would subsidize park operations in exchange for commercial opportunities in the province’s larger parks.
She described as “absolutely not correct” an earlier report that the province was turning over the responsibility for drinking water to municipalities.
“We’re increasing our funding for clean drinking water in the ministry,” Murray said. “We’re putting additional dollars into water monitoring.
“We’ve protected all of the field staff positions that dealt with drinking water quality. Safe drinking water is a priority and we are making sure that our plan reflects that.”
Murray said municipalities and other water purveyors will continue to be responsible for the delivery of drinking water, but the province remains committed to ensuring the safety of the supplies.
Meanwhile, conservation officers will no longer respond to routine calls in which wild animals such as bears and cougars appear in residential areas, unless the animals are acting in a threatening or aggressive manner.
Murray said such calls occupy about 15 percent of the conservation service’s time, and the ministry will work with local police detachments to train them to deal with non-dangerous situations.
Similarly, the ministry’s environmental emergency staff will no longer supervise spill cleanups in situations where there is only a low risk of environmental hazard.
Murray said the introduction of commercial operations into BC parks will be done in a manner that respects natural settings. As an example, she cited the establishment of a lodge that might provide a cluster of services for visitors.
