A comparison of the regulatory frameworks governing microbial testing of drinking water in three Canadian provinces

Figures & data

Table 1. Provincial legislation, regulations, and ministries pertaining to microbial water quality management.

	British Columbia	Ontario	Quebec
Water quality standards	No total coliforms	No total coliforms	No total coliforms
	No Escherichia coli or fecal coliforms	No E. coli	No E. coli or fecal coliforms
	Note that in practice most labs test for E. coli and not fecal coliforms “the reference to fecal coliforms in section 9 of the regulation and in Schedule A may be redundant” (BCOO 2008).	(heterotrophic plate counts)	Starting 8 March 2013, test results for E. coli and fecal coliform will be required
Testing frequency and regularity	Population-based; no regularity prescribed; sample type not specified	Population-based; regularity prescribed; sample type specified	Population-based; regularity prescribed; sample type specified
Types of water samples	Raw, treated, distribution	Raw, treated, distribution	Raw, treated, distribution
Small systems specifications	All systems with two or more connections are subject to regulation, but systems serving 500 or fewer individuals may be exempt from certain regulatory requirements	Separate regulation for small systems that may reduces the testing frequency and sample types required	Currently all systems serving 20 or fewer individuals, or one or more enterprises (or both of those) are exempt

Table 2. Comparison of four components of provincial microbial water quality testing regulations.

	British Columbia	Ontario	Quebec
Legislation	Drinking Water Protection Act, 2001	Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002	Environment Quality Act
Regulations	BC Reg. 200/2003	O. Reg. 170/03; O. Reg 169/03; O. Reg. 318/08; 319/08	c. Q-2, r. 40
Ministry responsible	Ministry of Health	Ministry of Environment (municipalities); Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (small water systems)	Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks

Table 3. Frequency and types of water sampled by province.

Province	Population	Sampling Frequency	Type of Water Sample	Regularity of Sampling
BC	< 5000	4 samples per month	Not defined	Not defined
	5000–90,000	1 sample per 1000 people
	> 90,000	90 samples
		plus 1 sample per 10,000 people in excess of 90,000
ON	< 100,000	8 “distribution” samples per month	Distribution, treated and raw	At least one sample per week (distribution must be treated more frequently than raw samples)
		plus 1 sample per 1000 people served (per month)
	> 100,000	100 ‘distribution’ samples per month		[at least] three samples per week
		plus 1 sample per 10,000 people served in excess of 100,000		(distribution must be treated more frequently than raw samples)
QC	< 21 individuals / enterprises	Drinking water regulations do not apply
	21–1000	Min. 2 samples per month	Distribution and raw	If # samples < 4 then samples should be collected at 7-day intervals (at least)
	1001–100,000	1 sample per 1000 people		Evenly distributed throughout sampling period if possible equal number of sample per week. 1 sample a week for raw water samples over 120 days.
	> 100,001	100 samples per month plus 1 additional sample per 10,000 people in excess of 100,000