Town has its volunteers for water testing

Only a week after offering a $50 incentive to get more participants in a water testing program, Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown told council last night the town now has more volunteers than it needs.
Brown said 47 residents responded to the call for 40 property owners to agree to allow the town’s water operators to come into their home twice a year for the next two years to collect water samples that eventually will be analyzed for lead.
He added the extra volunteers were a good thing since some of those who responded did not live in the testing area—namely, properties located between Central Avenue east to Colonization Road East, from Sixth Street south to the river, and from Central Avenue west to McIrvine Road (from the CN tracks south to the river).
The town first put out a call for participants back in September, but as of last Monday, only 30 had signed up.
So at the Dec. 10 council meeting, Brown announced a voucher for $50 to be used to pay for any service provided by any department within the town as an incentive to get more people involved.
Under the new provincial water legislation (Reg. 170/03), the town must test for lead using water samples from 40 residential properties, four non-residential properties, and eight distribution system outlets (fire hydrants).
The first period of testing will run from Dec. 15-April 15. A second round will take place from June 15-Oct. 15.
All test results will be provided to each homeowner free of charge.
There is no cost for the testing—residents just have to allow a town water operator into their dwelling for up to 45 minutes twice a year for the next two years.
During each visit, water operators will take three one-litre samples, which will be tested for lead, alkalinity, and pH. These water samples usually are taken from the kitchen tap.
Based on the results of the two testing periods, the town may be able to reduce the number of properties tested—and the frequency of testing—in future years.
In related news, Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft, chair of the Operations and Facilities executive committee, told council last night the Ministry of Environment completed an inspection of the town’s water treatment system on Dec. 4.
“I am happy to report to the community that no health risks and non-compliance issues were found,” he said.
Also at last night’s meeting, council:
•passed a bylaw to approve the 2008 user fee schedule;
•saw a demonstration of how to use vote-by-mail kit by clerk and returning officer Glenn Treftlin;
•received activity reports by the chairpersons of the Administration and Finance, Community Services, Operations and Facilities, and Planning and Development executive committees;
•approved a request from the Alzheimer Society of Kenora-Rainy River Districts to proclaim January as “National Alzheimer Awareness Month” in the Town of Fort Frances;
•passed a bylaw to approve an agreement with Metro Waste Paper Recovery Inc. as a destination for materials collected and to be recycled as part of Fort Frances waste management program; and
•passed a bylaw for the purpose of approving the minutes of current council.
Due to the holiday season and the municipal byelection, the next meeting of town council won’t be held until Tuesday, Jan. 15.