Sludge Watch ==> Alberta refuses to release sewage plant reports!

[Maureen Reilly]

Wednesday » October 25 » 2006

Province won't release drinking-water reports
Assessments of all 534 Alberta treatment plants would identify 184 where 
problems were found

Hanneke Brooymans
The Edmonton Journal


Wednesday, October 25, 2006


EDMONTON - Alberta Environment is refusing to release assessments it did on 
the province's 534 drinking-water treatment plants, despite a report that 
highlighted concerns about everything from disinfection problems to operator 
competency.

The province evaluated the plants in 2003 and 2004, but released only a 
summary report in March. The report did not name the plants that were having 
difficulties.

The Edmonton Journal requested the individual assessments in March, but the 
government has refused to release them, saying the reports would be "harmful 
to individual or public safety."

It also said disclosing the reports would be "harmful to intergovernmental 
relations" because the assessments could reveal information that was 
supplied in confidence -- explicitly or implicitly -- to Alberta 
Environment.

On Tuesday, it was announced that almost five months of mediation with the 
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner yielded no results. The 
matter will now go to an inquiry.

The decision not to release the reports was made by Bev Yee, assistant 
deputy minister of the department.

Cindy Chiasson, executive director of the Environmental Law Centre, said the 
centre would support giving the public access to the specific reports.

"Our perspective has always been, the more transparent the better," she 
said.

The specific reports would allow people to see how well the system is 
working. And if the facilities don't live up to regulatory requirements, 
people could see if the government is fixing the problem, she said.

Chiasson said the government could be using confidentiality as an excuse to 
shield municipalities that aren't doing a proper job. Releasing individual 
reports could also show if there were particular areas prone to problems, 
she said.

The report released earlier this year said there were 184 facilities with 
high functionality concerns. Some plants lacked certified operators, and it 
was common for systems not to be able to meet disinfection criteria.

The province is emphasizing a move towards regional systems, such as the one 
run by Epcor, to improve drinking water quality and reliability.

Chiasson said that given the public reaction to incidents such as those in 
Walkerton, Ont., and North Battleford, Sask., the provincial government may 
be worried about stirring up concerns while putting regional systems in 
place.

Seven people died and thousands were made ill by water contaminated with E. 
coli in Walkerton. In North Battleford, a parasite called cryptosporidium 
made thousands ill.

Alberta Environment has repeatedly said it believes in providing drinking 
water information to the public. It is about a month away from launching a 
long-expected website that will allow

Albertans to look up real-time water quality data from local treatment 
plants.

In 2002, the department told operators the website would provide public 
access to inspection reports and to water-treatment plant incidents and 
enforcement actions.

The assessment reports from 2003 and 2004 were mainly intended as a planning 
tool

to tell the government which facilities could meet increasingly stringent 
water-quality guidelines, said Sherri-Dawn Annett, a department spokeswoman.

Mike Belosevic, a biological sciences professor at the University of 
Alberta, agrees with the government decision not to release the assessments.

"That may be wise on their part, because what we do not want is to go on a 
witch hunt for small water-treatment plants," he said.

The assessments would only offer a retrospective look at what the plants 
were like two or three years ago -- by now they could have undergone 
upgrades, Belosevic said.

In March, the government said it would spend $160 million to upgrade 
drinking-water facilities. The report recommended the government spend $290 
million between 2004 and 2007 to address water quality, source, treatment 
and operation issues.

Gerald Rhodes, executive director of the Alberta Association of Municipal 
Districts and Counties, said members appreciated the assessments they 
received of their facilities. He said to make all of the report's suggested 
improvements "will cost a whole bunch of money."

Bob Hawkesworth, president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, 
thinks members will use the reports to make budget decisions about whether 
to invest in their water treatment facilities.

He expects councils will share the assessment results with the public while 
making those decisions.

Epcor was not included in the assessments. The company's facilities are 
regularly inspected by Alberta Environment, said spokesman Mike Gibbs.

Reports on daily, monthly and annual drinking water test results are 
available online at 
www.epcor.ca/Customers/HomeSmallBus/Water/Water+Quality+Reports/.

hbrooymans at thejournal.canwest.com

WHAT THE GOV'T SAYS

Alberta Environment's recently released annual report for 2005-06 included 
several drinking-water safety indicators.

- There were 554 regulated facilities in the province, with 78 per cent 
meeting the newest design standards.

- There were 35 incidents where regulatory requirements were not met that 
could have led to water-quality problems. These incidents occurred at 28 
separate facilities that were not named.

- There were 60 incidents at 51 facilities where health-related limits were 
exceeded. The report did not name the facilities.

Ran with fact box "What The Gov't Says", which has been appended to this 
story.

The Edmonton Journal 2006