The Mayor has responded to concerns raised by last week’s report in the Empire-Advance about arsenic levels in the town’s tap water.
In our report, it was revealed that 10 out of 15 arsenic tests performed in 2017 did not meet federal guidelines for maximum allowable arsenic – up to 72 per cent above the limit.
Jeff McConnell doesn’t dispute those numbers but says the latest tests done in early May show arsenic amounts now fall within the guidelines due to changes in the town’s water treatment procedures.
New numbers
This week, Utilities Manager Dale Wallace sent us a chart (see image) showing a dramatic decline in arsenic levels as of May 7.
The chart also shows arsenic levels reached a level double the guideline on two occasions this year. These new numbers are even higher than the 2017 levels the Empire-Advance reported in last week’s edition.
Water users not told
As to why the public wasn’t informed during the previous 16 months of high arsenic levels, McConnell says there was no requirement to do so.
“If the issue had been more severe, a public notification would have been required.”
The severity of the risk is not determined by the Town but by Manitoba Health officials and the Office of Drinking Water. They base their decision on factors like the length of exposure, amount of exposure, risks of exposure and other factors.
In an email to the Virden Empire-Advance, provincial officials said the situation in 2018 is different from 2012 when a water advisory was issued and water users received a notice.
In 2012, there was a “low level arsenic exceedance that was expected to occur over a relatively long period of time as the water treatment plant upgrade was required.”
In 2018, they say it is again a relatively low level exceedance but the difference is it was “expected to occur over a short period of time only, as it was believed it could be addressed relatively quickly through operational changes.”
Changes
At the Virden water treatment plant, staff are now flushing out the filters more often and taking other steps to keep the arsenic levels in line with the guidelines.
McConnell says, “The Office of Drinking Water told us we could go back to doing monthly water tests, but we’ll test bi-weekly until we’re comfortable with the results.”
He also asserts that town staff will begin posting the arsenic results on the town’s website “as they become available” instead of waiting until the end of the year as was done with previous water reports.
Staff issues
The Mayor admitted that Council should have been made aware of the problem sooner than it was.
But when asked what reasons staff gave for not alerting council to the arsenic and if there would be any disciplinary action taken, the Mayor declined comment.
“We will not be providing any responses to human resources questions like those. When you ask questions like that we will not be responding to them ever.”
Trust?
As to whether the public can trust Virden’s tap water after a 16-month resurgence in arsenic content, a provincial spokesperson said, “residents should be assured the short-term low exceedances (in arsenic levels) would not cause an increased risk to health and that their water will continue to be closely monitored.”
