Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment Chester Gillan says a report card on drinking water protection released today paints a completely inaccurate picture of the Prince Edward Island situation.
Minister Gillan was responding to a report by the Sierra Legal Defence Fund released in Ontario late this morning.
"I have still not seen the full report; however, if the executive summary is any indication, it is clear there are serious problems with this document," the Minister said. "The summary highlights four areas of concern, all of which are either entirely inaccurate or, at the very least, misleading."
On the statement that PEI has no binding standards for testing or treatment, Minister Gillan said the fact is the province uses the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality for the standard for both water quality and frequency of testing.
"Every community in Prince Edward Island is testing its water on a regular basis to ensure it meets the standards set out in the guidelines. To say we have no standards for testing or treatment is simply not true," he said.
Similarly, Minister Gillan said the contention in the report summary that PEI has no operator certification or use of certified laboratories is absolutely false.
"Almost every single water system operator in this province is certified, and all water samples are analysed by the provincial laboratories which are certified," he said.
In reply to the statement that chlorination and other disinfection are rare, Minister Gillan said the two largest systems in the province - which service the vast majority of municipal residents - do chlorinate or have chlorination equipment installed for use if needed.
The minister also noted that the report fails to recognize the difference between water from groundwater sources and surface water sources.
"Prince Edward Island relies completely on groundwater, and even in the United States, which the report holds up as the benchmark, the Environmental Protection Agency is suggesting that chlorination of groundwater should not be mandatory. It all depends on the nature of the source."
Finally, the report summary stated there are no binding requirements on Prince Edward Island for notifying the public of water quality problems. Again, Minister Gillan took exception.
"Because water quality analysis is completed by the provincial laboratory, and there is that direct connection to public health officials, all appropriate parties including the public are notified very rapidly if there are any water quality problems," he said. "My department clearly outlined to the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, in detail, the procedure followed."
Minister Gillan said contrary to what the executive summary stated, the Sierra Legal Defence Fund did not give the province an opportunity to comment in writing on the summary. The department responded to a questionnaire last June and has had no contact from the authors of the report since then, he said.
"It's an unfortunate situation. There is a great deal of interest in drinking water protection across the country, and I believe there is certainly value in a national survey. That is why my department spent some time in responding to the initial questionnaire," said Minister Gillan. "It is very disappointing when the information we provided is not accurately reflected. This report simply does not reflect the reality in Prince Edward Island."
Minister Gillan pointed to the results of a comprehensive independent survey of PEI municipal drinking water supplies released by the Sierra Club of Eastern Canada and the University of Waterloo just last year. The report was very favourable with the authors concluding that drinking water supplied by municipal groundwater wells across Prince Edward Island is of good quality.
"We have been vigilant in protecting our Island drinking water and we will continue to be vigilant. For instance, we are now in the process of developing a well field protection program," said Minister Gillan.
"The simple fact of the matter is, our water quality is excellent. To my knowledge, there has not been a single outbreak of illness from our municipal water supplies, and we have a comprehensive system in place to ensure that high quality."