Sustaining our water quality
In addition to water
supply and infrastructure issues, water quality is a problem in many
Canadian communities. Generally speaking, the decline in water quality
is a function of the way we use water. Even something as simple as
rinsing dishes in the kitchen creates wastewater that is contaminated to
some degree. Once this water enters the sewer system, it must be treated
in a sewage treatment plant. These facilities are never 100 percent
effective, which means that some water quality deterioration remains
after the treatment process.
Specific causes of
impaired water quality are numerous, including: agricultural runoff
containing the residues of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals,
industrial pollution, either directly from the facility, or indirectly
from the leaching of chemicals from landfills, or pollution from average
households in the form of improperly treated municipal sewage. Nearly
75% of Canadians are serviced by municipal sewer systems. In 1999, 97%
of the Canadian population on sewers received some form of wastewater
treatment. The remaining 3% of Canadians served by sewage collection
systems were not connected to wastewater treatment facilities in 1999
and discharged their untreated sewage directly into receiving water
bodies.
For the roughly
25 percent of the Canadian population served by private wells and septic
disposal systems, the news is not much better. These systems were
originally designed for houses that were widely separated from their
nearest neighbor, such as farmhouses and the occasional rural residence.
Yet, today, in many parts of the country, individual private wells are
being installed in subdivisions at suburban densities. The primary
danger here is that too many wells may pump too much water for the
aquifer to sustain itself.
Septic treatment
systems associated with these developments can stress the environment in
a number of other ways. They are often allowed in less than satisfactory
soil conditions and are seldom maintained properly. They are also unable
to treat many household cleaners and chemicals which, when flushed down
the drain or toilet, often impair or kill the bacterium needed to make
the system work (The same applies in urban systems). The end results are
improper treatment of wastewater – if not outright failure of the
system – and the contamination of adjacent wells with septic effluent
containing bacterium, nitrates and other pollutants.
Once these
contaminants are in the groundwater, they eventually reach rivers and
lakes. In other words, once we have a pollution problem, we may
be only a step away from a water supply problem.
 Groundwater
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