Small Water Systems website goes “live!”
Have you ever wondered what role the health authorities play in regulating drinking water in BC? Are there any resources to help you write an Emergency Response Plan? And how will the new Groundwater Protection Regulation affect your small water system? You can find the answer to these and many other questions on the new Small Water Systems website.
BCWWA developed this site to address the challenges facing small water systems. From the site’s home page, you’ll find links to federal guidelines, provincial regulations, water users associations, and information about operator training and water system classification. You can also find links to BCWWA’s training schedule and the web sites for the Environmental Operators Certification Program (EOCP) and the MSC (Manufacturers/Suppliers/Consultants) Committee.
Near the top of the home page is a link to an on-line insurance survey. Through discussions with small water system owners and operators, the provincial government and BCWWA became aware that small water systems are concerned about their ability to obtain affordable insurance coverage. The insurance survey provides a means for you to share your views and requirements with the insurance industry.
The small water systems site has links to the Best Management Practices (best practices) developed by BCWWA. These “made in BC” best practices include information specifically for small water systems. Best practices were developed for cross-connection control, chlorine disinfection and monitoring, water distribution system planning and renewal, emergency response planning, reducing water distribution system losses, turbidity monitoring and reporting, and distribution system cleaning/unidirectional flushing.
One of the most exciting features of the new small water systems website is the forum board. Small water system operators and users can post questions to members of the Small Water Systems Committee. If we can’t answer the question, we’ll direct it to someone who can. The forum will also be a place for you to discuss problems with other operators – and share ideas about finding solutions.
The “Small Water System Spotlight” will present feature articles about small water systems in BC. Although small water systems face unique obstacles, they are rising to the challenge of delivering safe drinking water to their customers. BCWWA and the Small Water Systems Committee applaud the efforts and successes of small water system operators. Check out the stories in the “Spotlight” and let us know about a small water system that you would like to see featured.
BCWWA developed this web site for small water system operators and users. We hope it will be a valuable source of information. So visit the site soon! The site can be accessed at http://www.smallwatersystems.com/ or through the link on the BCWWA website http://www.bcwwa.org/. Let us know what you think.
Reprinted from the Spring 2005 issue of the Watermark Magazine.