Municipality Offers Optimism But Few Details as Owen Sound's Boil Water Advisory Continues
Residents remain under a boil water advisory as officials report improving conditions but have not released detailed testing results.
In their second update on the boil water advisory, City of Owen Sound officials say conditions in the municipal water system are improving, but several key questions about testing and turbidity levels remain unanswered.
In an update released Monday, the City said there are “encouraging trends” in the system and suggested that, if improvements continue, lifting the precautionary boil water advisory could potentially be considered by Wednesday, March 18.
The advisory was issued Saturday evening after elevated turbidity — or cloudiness in the water — was observed at the city’s water treatment plant.
The municipal drinking water system serves approximately 24,000 people in Owen Sound and nearby areas connected to the City’s water supply.
Questions about key data; public and business notifications
Owen Sound Current previously reported that early Sunday afternoon, roughly 18 hours after the advisory was issued, several local restaurant owners and managers said they had not received direct notification about the advisory from the City or public health officials.
Two restaurants were serving food and beverages using municipal water at the time and said they were not aware a boil water advisory was in effect.
When asked whether there had been direct outreach to food service businesses, City Manager Tim Simmonds said by email — in a message copied to Grey Bruce Public Health — that he had confirmed the health unit had sent the advisory to restaurants the previous day.
When asked whether “sent” meant notices were sent by email and whether additional outreach such as phone calls or door-to-door notification had taken place after the advisory was issued, Simmonds said those questions should be directed to Grey Bruce Public Health.
Grey Bruce Public Health, which was included on the same email thread and asked again directly in a follow-up message, did not respond.
Mayor Ian Boddy, members of Council, and Grey Bruce Public Health officials including Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra were included in the email on March 15 requesting clarification about testing data and public notifications.
No responses had been received at the time of publication on March 16.
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Officials have not released the specific turbidity readings observed at the plant, the typical turbidity levels normally seen under regular operating conditions, the timing or results of any microbiological testing conducted since the advisory, or how frequently such testing is now being carried out, despite questions from Owen Sound Current seeking those details.
Elevated turbidity is closely monitored in drinking water systems because suspended particles can interfere with disinfection during treatment, potentially shielding microorganisms from disinfectants.
Officials said Sunday that “no pathogens have been detected in the treated drinking water.” However, when asked when the most recent microbiological testing had been conducted, the City said the latest results available were from Thursday, March 12, two days before the boil water advisory was issued Saturday evening.
Owen Sound Current asked the municipality on Monday morning whether bacterial testing had been repeated since Thursday and how frequently testing is being conducted during the advisory.
City Manager Tim Simmonds said a response would be provided later in the day due to internal meetings.
In Monday’s update, the City stated that the water “currently continues to meet all other quality and testing standards,” but did not release updated microbiological testing dates or results.
The City has also not provided details about how frequently microbiological testing is normally conducted for the system, or how often testing is being performed during the advisory, despite questions from Owen Sound Current.
Editor’s Note: Owen Sound Current received the following information on Monday, March 16, just before 6 p.m. from Michelle Palmer, Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Operational Effectiveness for the City of Owen Sound.
“To clarify, the sample for the last microbiological test was collected on Monday, March 9, with the results being received by the City on Thursday, March 12.
High turbidity is an indication that there might be interference with certain aspects of the disinfection process, but there has been no indication of contamination.
If there is microbiological contamination, it generally affects chlorine residuals. Representative chlorine residuals have been checked daily, and the chlorine residuals have remained stable throughout this period,” Palmer wrote.
The update noted that there has not been a microbiological sample collected since Monday, March 9, and the next regularly scheduled microbiological sampling collection is today — Monday, March 16th.
Palmer stated, “As per our Municipal Drinking Water License and O. Reg. 170, a significant number of tests are completed regularly to ensure water quality and adjust treatment processes. Some testing is completed through continuous monitoring (e.g. turbidity), some testing is completed through sampling on a scheduled basis (e.g. weekly microbiological testing, weekly chlorine residuals etc).”
She said that staff have increased weekly chlorine residual testing to daily, effective March 14.
Palmer wrote, “I would reiterate that microbiological testing is one type of testing utilized and there are multiple factors that are under consideration to determine the safety of the water.”
Daily updates promised
In its first public update Sunday, the City said it was committed to providing “clear communication on a regular basis” and stated that it would post daily media releases while the advisory remains in effect.
Monday’s update focused largely on bottled water distribution and water conservation efforts.
A limited supply of bottled water, donated by Bruce Power and Ice River Springs, was being distributed to residents at the Public Works Administration building while supplies lasted.
When the advisory could end
The City said the advisory was triggered after turbidity levels in treated water exceeded the 1.0 Nephelometric Turbidity Units threshold that must be reported to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and Grey Bruce Public Health.
Officials say the treatment plant is functioning but operating under constraints due to changing weather conditions affecting raw water from Georgian Bay and infrastructure upgrades affecting redundant equipment.
Those conditions have required the plant to operate at reduced flow rates while maintaining turbidity targets.
The R. H. Neath Water Purification Plant has a rated treatment capacity of approximately 27,276 cubic metres of water per day and supplies roughly 7,000 water service connections across the system.
While the facility has undergone equipment upgrades in recent years, including work on filtration systems and other treatment infrastructure, the plant’s overall rated capacity has remained largely unchanged.
City water and wastewater services are funded through user fees rather than property taxes. According to City financial planning documents, the system’s combined infrastructure — including treatment facilities, pipes, and pumping stations — has an estimated replacement value of roughly $971 million.
Officials have not identified specific turbidity levels or other operational thresholds that must be reached before lifting the advisory can be considered. The City says they are cautiously optimistic that, if current trends continue, the system could be in a position to consider lifting the advisory later this week.