If reports could hold water, the final operating plan for Wellington North’s drinking-water-quality management system would hold a virtual reservoir of information.
Councillors who reviewed the documents recently might not have been familiar with the half-inch thick document – but they will need to be.
The document is required as part of the municipality’s due diligence to have an operational plan in place outlining record keeping, the definitions of the water systems in both Arthur and Mount Forest, risk assessment and outcomes, a listing of responsibilities and authorities, communications and a wealth of other information.
Mayor Mike Broomhead said a lot of work and effort went into the document, but he wondered if discussion should be deferred to another council meeting.
Works Superintendent Gary Williamson said he did not believe it needed to be brought back to a future meeting. “The point of giving it to council and the press is to make you aware this is the final document. It’s part of the water system licensing we have to go through.”
That process also includes third-party audits of the work.
Every year internal audits are also required.
Williamson said this is a very important document. “It’s your operational plan. Part of it is the next thing to mandatory … therefore council needs to be aware of what is in it and what is involved in it.”
He pointed to the quality policy which outlines the purpose behind the document “to consistently provide safe drinking water in compliance with applicable legislation and regulatory requirements for municipally owned water systems.”
He noted the document will be available on the township website and a hard copy would be available at the township office in Kenilworth.
“This is a living document and will continue to change.”
He noted if residential water meters come into place, that would need to be incorporated into the document.
Focussing on document and record control, Williamson said is “probably the most important or one of the most important parts of this document.”
It explains the different types of records the township must keep, how to dispose of obsolete records, how to review them, how to retrieve them: “the whole enchilada. It’s how everything has to be recorded.”
Williamson said the record keeping takes time, is demanding on staff and must be used to determine that work has been done in a particular fashion. The document must be reviewed annually.
It details standing operating procedures such as those used for hydrant flushing.
Each procedure is accompanied by forms to document the actions taken.
He came short of calling it a bookkeeping nightmare, but said “it is regulation bookkeeping you must have the staff on top of.”
He said the procedures must be followed and documented “because when you have your audit, that is what they are looking for. It’s a big document and there’s a lot of work that went into it.”
He said there is not only the time to create the document, but to justify it – down to the minutes of the meetings.
“It is the bloodline of the water system as it operates now,” he said.
Councillor John Matusinec, chairman of the water and sewer committee, said while an outside person put the document together, there was the involvement of the entire department.
“It’s mandated by the government to have this.”
He said he considers the township two years ahead of the game in meeting certain requirements.
Williamson said the base levels had to be implemented by July 1, but municipalities had some options on putting plans together.
There were three stages, but it was felt the best approach was to do it all at once.
Matusinec said he would like “to show my appreciation, for the work the water department does to basically keep us out of jail.”
