BUI #9 - Restrictions on drinking water or taste and odour problems

Status – Restored – July 2020

Final Assessment Report

Drinking water in the Bay of Quinte is meeting all the Ontario drinking water quality standards for treated drinking water.

What is the process to get clean drinking water to your tap?

In 2014, a municipal drinking water taste and odour survey was completed. The majority of people were satisfied with the quality of their drinking water.

Criteria and Supporting Evidence

1. Based on Ontario Drinking Water Surveillance Program (DWSP) & other available relevant field measures of T&O compounds in raw water from the Bay of Quinte, record in no more than 20% of samples per year (e.g. 1 in 5), for the past three years, a concentration of greater than the odour threshold concentration (OTC) for algal/bacterial T&O compounds (geosmin, MIB) in raw water from the upper and middle Bay of Quinte. Not Impaired

2. Compared to the results of the 2004 XCG survey of taste & odour complaints for municipal drinking water in the Bay of Quinte, demonstrate no increase in taste and odour complaints related to source water quality in the Picton, Belleville, Deseronto and Bayside drinking water supplies. Not Impaired

3. For a period of the past five consecutive years at the Belleville, Picton, Deseronto and Bayside water treatment plants, all health related water quality parameters, including E. coli and microcystin-LR in treated drinking water as measured by and recorded in databases for the Ontario Drinking Water Surveillance Program (ODWSP) and Ontario Drinking Water Information System (ODWIS) have concentrations equal to or less than their Maximum Acceptable Concentration (MAC) for the specified water quality parameter. Not Impaired

If you rely on a private well for your drinking water, it is your job to be well aware – to understand the basics of well maintenance and operation, and to take the necessary actions to keep your water wells in safe running order.

Video: Restrictions on drinking water or taste and odour problems.
Video: How Do Water Treatment Plants Work?