Guidance For Providing Safe Drinking Water in Areas of Federal
Jurisdiction - Version 1
Part 1 - The Federal Framework
1.0 Setting the Stage
1.1 The multi-barrier approach
to safe drinking water
The drinking water system can be broken down into three main components:
the water source, the treatment system and the distribution system.
In each of these areas, steps can be taken to reduce the likelihood
of contamination before it occurs. The multi-barrier approach to
safe drinking water reflects this concept and is based on preventative
action.
Variability in source water locations, types of source waters
(surface water, groundwater, groundwater under the influence of
surface water), and range of water treatment processes available
make it unlikely that a single solution can be applied to correct
every abnormal water analysis result or upset event.
For this reason, health risks are more effectively reduced through
planning, designing, and managing the entire drinking water system
from source to tap, including implementing barriers at critical
points throughout the system.
The multi-barrier approach is an integrated system of procedures,
processes and tools that collectively prevent or reduce the contamination
of drinking water.
In addition to the physical barriers which relate to the three
main components, a number of procedures, processes and tools need
to be in place which affect all aspects of the management and operation
of the drinking water system. These include stakeholder commitments
to develop legislative and/or policy frameworks; guidelines, standards
and objectives; research, science and technology solutions, and
consumer awareness and involvement.
Figure 1.1 shows how these elements work together to ensure the
safety of the drinking water supply.
The application of the multi-barrier approach at the federal level
varies from department to department and from site to site. For
instance, in cases where the drinking water for a particular facility
is supplied by a municipality, a department will need to implement
barriers within the building. In cases where a department collects
water at the source and then treats and distributes it to consumers,
many more barriers will need to be implemented.
As a general rule, drinking water provided by federal departments
or in First Nations communities should meet the quality benchmarks
set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality (discussed
in Section 2.1).
For more information on the multi-barrier approach and its
application to drinking water systems, see "From Source
to Tap: Guidance on the Multi-Barrier Approach to Safe Drinking
Water" published jointly by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial
Committee on Drinking Water and the Canadian Council of Ministers
of the Environment (CCME). This document can be downloaded from
Health Canada's website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/waterquality or
CCME's website at  http://www.ccme.ca/sourcetotap/mba.html
1.2 Jurisdictional issues
In Canada, the responsibility for water quality is shared by various
levels of government, and involves multi- jurisdictional and cross-disciplinary
collaboration. Major stakeholders include federal, provincial,
and territorial government departments, municipal and local governments,
First Nations Band Councils, non-governmental organizations, and
the public.
Although drinking water quality is generally an area of provincial
jurisdiction, the federal government has responsibilities for drinking
water quality, including on federal lands and in First Nations
communities.
North of 60, the Territorial governments are responsible for ensuring
safe drinking water in all communities in their territories, including
First Nations and Inuit communities. Responsibility for drinking
water quality monitoring and boil water advisories reside with
the Territorial governments and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
In some instances (e.g., for federal employees), clear legislative
obligations are in place to help ensure the safety of drinking
water supplies. For example, the federal government has a legislated
duty as an employer to provide potable water to its employees.
In other cases (e.g., visitors to federal lands), ensuring the
safety of drinking water supplies is more a matter of due diligence.
The issue of due diligence is discussed further in Section
2.6.
In the case of facilities located on federal land but leased to
a third party, the federal government's responsibilities and liabilities
are determined on a case-by-case basis. In such cases, responsibilities
for drinking water should be clearly laid out and understood before
the lease or agreement is signed. Appropriate clauses should be
written into the lease agreement.
When the federal government leases buildings or office space from,
or is provided accommodation by a third party, it is the
government's responsibility as the employer to provide potable
water (see the Canada Labour Code, Section 125 (part II)).
The federal government's responsibilities regarding leased properties
apply to existing leases as well as new ones.
For more information on the roles and responsibilities of
specific departments, see Section 8: Information and Resources
1.3 Types of water supplies and
systems
For the purpose of this document, the following definitions apply
to drinking water systems owned or leased by the federal government
or First Nations communities. They also apply to water supplies
used through arrangements with municipalities (i.e., municipally-supplied
federal facilities).
Large systems serve more than 5000 people.
Small systems serve 500 or more people but fewer
than 5000.
Very small systems serve fewer than 500 people.
Drinking water systems serving less than 50 people are also included
in this category if they are owned or leased by the federal government
such as those serving:
- federal employees in federal facilities;
- federal employees (and their family / visitors) living in residences
provided by the federal government as a condition of employment;
- members of the Canadian Forces
- inmates of federal correctional facilities; and
- visitors to federal facilities.
In addition to these categories, unique facilities exist,
or situations may arise, that require special attention in order
to protect public health. Examples of unique facilities/situations
include:
- Canadian embassies overseas with water systems that have difficulty
meeting Canadian standards of sampling, testing, operator certification,
availability of regular training for operators, etc.
- Remote locations within Canada
- Seasonal facilities
- Water systems used for one-time large group events
- Coast Guard and military vessels
- Special dedicated-use bottling plants (e.g., Canadian
Forces overseas)
- Large scale domestic humanitarian deployments
- Emergencies
In these contexts, it is up to the department in question to determine
the most appropriate means of supplying safe drinking water to
consumers.
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