WHEREAS provincial health authorities have: - overall responsibility for ensuring that the citizens of British Columbia have a safe supply of drinking water; and - the expertise to determine whether or not drinking water is safe, and routinely evaluate test results of drinking water samples from public water supply systems; AND WHEREAS the health authorities have historically, in some parts of the Province, provided the service of evaluating private drinking water supplies at the time of subdivision, thus helping to ensure that safe drinking water is provided to the citizens of British Columbia: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities request that the provincial health authorities resume or assume commenting on drinking water quality for private water supplies that are developed as a requirement of subdivision approval.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH Subdivisions are approved by an Approving Officer appointed under the Land Title Act. Provincial Approving Officers are responsible for approving subdivisions in the rural areas of the province, outside of municipal boundaries. One of the requirements of subdivision approval is an adequate supply of potable water. As part of the approval process the approving officer will usually refer the subdivision application to the local health authority for assessment, as well as other referral agencies. At present, some labs release water testing results with a report that indicates whether the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water have been met. Local governments are encouraged to work with their local labs to ensure they receive such a report. A Professional Engineer could also provide this information. This information allows the approving officer to have confidence in the potability of the water supply. In the instance where any of the parameters have exceeded the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water, the health authorities are able to provide information regarding potential health effects.
NORTHERN HEALTH While we do everything we can to respond to the request to investigate a threat to a persons drinking water and to assist them with information, responsibility for private water is outside the mandate of the Health Authorities. At this time our main focus for the Northern Health Drinking Water program is to work with over 1100 water suppliers who have the responsibility to provide safe public drinking water to their customers. Our resources are stretched completing these duties which are a priority within our mandate. We are not in a position to consider taking on a formal mandate to ensure the safety or private water within our current structure at our current level of resources. FRASER HEALTH Fraser Health has both a regulatory role subdivisions that have community water supply systems as per the Drinking Water Protection legislation and a support role subdivisions that have single home water supplies related to drinking water and quality. With respect to the latter, Fraser Health provides the approval officer with guidance on testing and professional report criteria they can require as assurance of potability.