Report to: General Committee                                                        Report Date: June 09, 2008

 

 

SUBJECT:                  The Ontario Ministry of Environment - Markham Distribution System – Drinking Water System Inspection Report

PREPARED BY:       Karen Dennison, M. Eng., P. Eng., Ext. 2519

                                    Waterworks, Manager of System Engineering

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report “The Ontario Ministry of Environment – Markham Distribution System – Drinking Water System Inspection Report” be received;

 

And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not Applicable

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide Council with an update on the findings of the Ministry of the Environment (MOE)’s inspection of the Markham Water Distribution System for 2007.

 

BACKGROUND:

The Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 (SDWA) states that a provincial officer may at any reasonable time conduct an inspection for the purpose of determining compliance with regulatory requirements contained within the Act, or any of the associated regulations. Traditionally, the MOE has annually conducted an inspection of Markham’s Water Distribution System.

 

The MOE inspection of the Markham Water Distribution System occurred on February 26, 2008.  The MOE Inspector reviewed the Waterworks procedures, policies and records for 2007. 

 

Markham was found to be 100% in compliance with the Drinking-Water Systems Ontario Regulation 170/03.

 

The MOE provided two recommendations, identifying areas for further improvement of Markham’s procedures and polices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

 

The MOE Inspector provided the following list of Best Practice Issues and Recommendations.  These recommendations are provided by the MOE to identify areas where drinking water quality assurance can be further improved or protected.  Please note the “Recommended Actions” convey information that the owner or operating authority should consider implementing in order to improve procedures and policies already in place and are not considered violations. 

 

 

MOE Best Practice Issues and Recommendations

 

1.      System Efficiencies Recommendation:

 

It was estimated that greater than 10 % (approximately 11%) of the total amount of distributed water was not accounted for.

 

(a)    It is recommended that the Town of Markham review the factors contributing to unaccounted water loss; including but not limited to donor agreement(s), water flow monitoring and pressure monitoring, and estimated loss from unmetered water consuming activities.

 

(b)   It is recommended that the Town of Markham continue in its proactive leak detection program; specifically its DMA pilots and SCADA implementation.

 

 

2.  Procedures Correction Recommendation:

 

A review of the Waterworks Procedure Manual indicated that greater detail was needed in the standard Waterworks operating procedure #101 (a procedure to coordinate response for adverse or exceedance of water quality testing). Further review is requested to ensure that Markham’s procedure #101 contains enough detail to reflect the legislative requirements, specifically combined chlorine residual testing, with respect to corrective actions as listed in O. Reg. 170/03, Schedule 17-5 and 17-6.

 

(a)    The Waterworks Procedure #101 should be reviewed and modified to clearly reflect the corrective actions as listed in O. Reg. 170/03, Schedule 17-5 and 17-6.

 

(b)   Provide the modified procedure to the issuing officer for review.

 

(c)    After the modified version of the procedure has been provided to the issuing officer for review, provide to the issuing officer records indicating that the operators and other affected staff have been trained/updated with respect to the changes made to the procedure.

 

Town of Markham’s Response to the Recommendations

 

The Town has responded to the recommendations from the MOE as follows:

 

  1. System Efficiencies Recommendation

 

Water Loss:

At the time of the MOE inspection on February 26, 2008, Markham reported approximately 11% of distributed water was not accounted for.  This was based on actual volume of water billed to the customer by Powerstream by December 31, 2007 and did not include the unbilled water volume (which was unknown at this date). Once this data was available, the actual water loss was slightly below 10%, which is being communicated to the MOE.

 

We recognize that there is a need for continuous improvement in order to further reduce water loss and optimize system efficiencies. Waterworks is undertaking various programs, as described below, in order to actively minimize unaccounted for water.

 

Leakage Identification Programs:

Markham is currently undertaking focused leakage management involving implementation of Management Area technique (DMA) for proactive leak detection, improved leak repair time and pressure management to reduce leakage volume. Waterworks is implementing a Management Area program (pilot phase currently underway) in which the water distribution system is sectioned into Management Areas in order to identify background leakage, watermain breaks and other sources of unaccounted for water through monitoring of flows and real time data acquisition.

 

Minimizing leakage, or water loss, improves the efficiency of the drinking water distribution system and is an important part of water conservation.  To help reduce existing, unreported leaks in the system, Markham has embarked on a program to implement Management Areas (DMA), which is currently in the pilot phase. One pilot Management Area (P1) is currently operational, three more pilot Management Areas are scheduled to be operational by the end of 2008.  It is expected that this Management Area program will reduce the time to identify potential problems and trigger corrective action before they become major problems or failures.  

 

Leakage Reduction Programs:

Pressure management is planned for implementation and testing in Management Area P2. The intention is to reduce pressure during times of low flow thereby reducing the volume of background leakage from the system.

 

Watermain failures can result from aging mains, main breaks, leaks, high system pressures and supply issues.  Early indications or warnings of emerging leaks or problems will minimize this risk and better account for water usage and losses.  Markham’s long term plan is to have the whole Markham distribution system monitored by a Process Control System (WW PCS by 2010). Waterworks PCS is being implemented in order to facilitate these initiatives bringing current data back to the control centre for reduced reaction time,  improved management of system and reduction of leakage.

 

Infrastructure management is accomplished through various established Waterworks programs identifying water main rehabilitation and replacement priorities and the installation of anodes. These programs help reduce deterioration of existing water mains and reduce leakage by minimizing the number of watermain breaks in the Markham distribution system.

                                                                                                                        Markham Waterworks department also has programs in place to proactively identify customers that are un-metered and is currently updating the Water Use By-Law to include more stringent consequences for such practice.  An annual meter replacement program is also in place to help reduce the number of leaking meters.

 

  1. Procedures:

The Waterworks Procedure #101 (Co-ordinator Response Procedure for Adverse or Exceedance of Water Quality Test) has been reviewed and modified to clearly reflect the corrective actions as listed in O. Reg. 170/03, Schedule 17-5 and 17-6. 

 

The modified Waterworks Procedure #101 has been provided to the issuing officer for review and is included as Attachment B to this report. 

 

The monthly Operations & Maintenance Meeting was held on April 24, 2008.  Included in the agenda was the review of the modified Waterworks Procedure #101 with the operators and other affected staff with respect to the changes made to the procedure.   A copy of the Training Record for the updated Waterworks Procedure #101 was forwarded to the issuing officer.

 

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)

Not Applicable

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not Applicable

 

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not Applicable

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

The MOE Inspection Report enhances several key Waterworks service delivery components:

·        Proactive and preventative strategies to identify and manage risks to public health;

·        Continuous Improvement of Waterworks activities and service delivery;

 

 

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Not Applicable

 

 

RECOMMENDED BY:

 

 

 

________________________           

                                      Jerry Klaus,

                                      General Manager, Waterworks

 

 

 

                                      ________________________         

                                      Peter Loukes, P. Eng.

                                      Commission Lead, Operations and Asset Management

 

 

ATTACHMENTS:

 

Attachment A – Ontario Ministry of the Environment -  Markham Distribution System – Drinking Water System Inspection Report – February 26, 2008

 

Attachment B – Waterworks Procedure 101: Coordinator Response Procedure for    Adverse or Exceedance of Water Quality Testing.