Province not doing enough to protect drinking water in B.C.: Office of the Auditor General

Province not doing enough to protect drinking water in B.C.: Office of the Auditor General
file/CBC
Province not doing enough to protect drinking water in B.C.: Office of the Auditor General

The Ministry of Health and the Office of the Provincial Health Officer are not doing enough to protect drinking water for all British Columbians according to the Office of the Auditor General.

A new report called The Protection of Drinking Water: An Independent Audit finds that the Ministry of Health does not know which water systems are at risk so has not developed a strategy to address them.

“We undertook this audit because of the considerable importance of safe drinking water and because the risks to drinking water are increasing,” said Carol Bellringer, auditor general.

“We found that overall, the Ministry of Health and the PHO’s accountability to ensure drinking water was protected is concerning.”

The reports finds that while the ministry has taken some action to mitigate the risks to drinking water, more needs to be done. It is especially true when it comes to small water systems where the risk of contamination is intensified.

“The ministry’s actions to address issues in small water systems, which are generally found in rural areas, has been limited,” the reports finds.

“There are approximately 4,800 known drinking water systems in B.C. About 90% of these systems are small water systems that collectively serve approximately 480,000 people.”

Overall, the auditor general found that the Ministry of Health did not demonstrate leadership in ensuring continuous improvement to the protection of drinking water, and both the Ministry of Health and the PHO have not kept government sufficiently apprised of the ongoing risks to drinking water.

“Thankfully, B.C. has not had a known outbreak of water borne illness since 2004, but just a single event that contaminates a drinking water system can cause serious health impacts for numerous people,” said Bellringer.

The report makes eight recommendations including five to the Ministry of Health, among them is a call to provide leadership to co-ordinate the ministries, undertake a legislative review, identify risks and develop a strategic plan.

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