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In 1995, Alice and Ray Pretty spent almost $1 million building an 11-unit building on a wooded edge of the village of Lanark.
Pinehill Apartments was to be an oasis for adults only, with fresh air and tranquility, an easy-to-run retirement business with an inviting circular driveway on a soothing 10-acre setting.
Here’s how Alice says it’s going:
“I phoned (my MPP) last week and said, ‘I’m fed up.’ What can they do? Throw me in jail?”
The couple feel increasingly strangled by the regulations governing the operation of their drinking-water well. Alice, 72, is a retired teacher. Here is a glimpse at what Ontario’s Ministry of Environment has asked of her:
Alice, who lives in the building, says she was fully prepared to study the thick material — with topics such as legislation, pumps, treatment and turbidity — and take the open-book exam. It was only when she was told about the further “training”, which likely involves a weekend away, then ongoing recertification, that she drew a line.
“I thought, ‘That’s it.’ I closed the book and haven’t looked at it since.”
The great irony, says Pretty, is the tenants do not even drink the water being tested. The well uses a new ultraviolet disinfection system and requires a softener, which can give the water a slightly salty taste. To compensate, an additional reverse-osmosis system was installed.
Pretty says the tenants take their drinking water from a communal reverse-osmosis tap that is open 24/7. Water from the in-unit taps is used for everything else.
It isn’t a perfect solution, but in a small place like Lanark — like much of rural Ontario — there is no municipal system to tap into. It’s wells or nothing.
Pretty says the well has had almost perfect results except for the occasional blip that found low-level readings of coliform. In the post-Walkerton era, this was a major no-no, first flagged in 2002.
“This is all a result of Walkerton,” she said, of the E. coli water scandal that killed seven people in the small Ontario town in 2000. “A knee-jerk reaction to it all.”
Pretty agrees the government has a regulatory role to play in ensuring that communal well-water is safe for drinking. And she believes she is fulfilling her duty as a landlord. She does, however, feel that small lay operators are being lumped in with municipal-sized systems.
“I have no problem with them checking to make sure we’re providing good water. I do have a problem with them comparing me to big operations that might have 50 or 60 units.”
Area MPP Randy Hillier is trying to intervene but was told by ministry inspectors, basically, that rules are rules.
“Can you imagine?” he said Thursday. “It’s inconceivable that we would say this to someone in their 70s, who has provided a very necessary kind of accommodation in rural Ontario. And they’ve never once had a real problem.”
Hillier said the regulations have also caused consternation for the operators of summer camps, seasonal resorts and mobile home parks. He sees a big added burden, without much resulting benefit in the quality of water.
“Who gets penalized from Walkerton? The people who’ve never had a problem.”
Pretty, meanwhile, is examining her options. One is to shut half the building. Five-unit dwellings fall under different regulations.
“It would be so ridiculous, especially when they’re trying to find more accommodation for the retired population.”
Post-Walkerton, the Safe Drinking Water Act of 2002 and the Clean Water Act of 2006 brought in a raft of new regulations that caused a furore in rural Ontario, where about 400 communal residential well systems are regulated.
“In Ontario, we have a comprehensive safety net for drinking water that keeps our drinking water among the best protected in the world,” the ministry says.
The Prettys have spent tens of thousands on their drinking water system and don’t want to face the prospect of kicking out tenants, who pay between $900 and $1,200 a month.
“I’m not an activist. I’m really not, but I’m fed up with this water thing. I really am.”
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@ottawacitizen.com.
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
查看原文...
Pinehill Apartments was to be an oasis for adults only, with fresh air and tranquility, an easy-to-run retirement business with an inviting circular driveway on a soothing 10-acre setting.
Here’s how Alice says it’s going:
“I phoned (my MPP) last week and said, ‘I’m fed up.’ What can they do? Throw me in jail?”
The couple feel increasingly strangled by the regulations governing the operation of their drinking-water well. Alice, 72, is a retired teacher. Here is a glimpse at what Ontario’s Ministry of Environment has asked of her:
- At their expense, drive water samples to a lab in Ottawa every two weeks.
- Study a 300-plus page book on drinking water rules and, within a year, take a written exam.
- Once the exam is passed (and it must be), arrange for 20 hours of training, which includes seven hours of class instruction, probably in southern Ontario. The other 13 hours of training is “on-the-job.” This training is to be done each and every year.
- Recertify every three years.
Alice, who lives in the building, says she was fully prepared to study the thick material — with topics such as legislation, pumps, treatment and turbidity — and take the open-book exam. It was only when she was told about the further “training”, which likely involves a weekend away, then ongoing recertification, that she drew a line.
“I thought, ‘That’s it.’ I closed the book and haven’t looked at it since.”
The great irony, says Pretty, is the tenants do not even drink the water being tested. The well uses a new ultraviolet disinfection system and requires a softener, which can give the water a slightly salty taste. To compensate, an additional reverse-osmosis system was installed.
Pretty says the tenants take their drinking water from a communal reverse-osmosis tap that is open 24/7. Water from the in-unit taps is used for everything else.
It isn’t a perfect solution, but in a small place like Lanark — like much of rural Ontario — there is no municipal system to tap into. It’s wells or nothing.
Pretty says the well has had almost perfect results except for the occasional blip that found low-level readings of coliform. In the post-Walkerton era, this was a major no-no, first flagged in 2002.
“This is all a result of Walkerton,” she said, of the E. coli water scandal that killed seven people in the small Ontario town in 2000. “A knee-jerk reaction to it all.”
Pretty agrees the government has a regulatory role to play in ensuring that communal well-water is safe for drinking. And she believes she is fulfilling her duty as a landlord. She does, however, feel that small lay operators are being lumped in with municipal-sized systems.
“I have no problem with them checking to make sure we’re providing good water. I do have a problem with them comparing me to big operations that might have 50 or 60 units.”
Area MPP Randy Hillier is trying to intervene but was told by ministry inspectors, basically, that rules are rules.
“Can you imagine?” he said Thursday. “It’s inconceivable that we would say this to someone in their 70s, who has provided a very necessary kind of accommodation in rural Ontario. And they’ve never once had a real problem.”
Hillier said the regulations have also caused consternation for the operators of summer camps, seasonal resorts and mobile home parks. He sees a big added burden, without much resulting benefit in the quality of water.
“Who gets penalized from Walkerton? The people who’ve never had a problem.”
Pretty, meanwhile, is examining her options. One is to shut half the building. Five-unit dwellings fall under different regulations.
“It would be so ridiculous, especially when they’re trying to find more accommodation for the retired population.”
Post-Walkerton, the Safe Drinking Water Act of 2002 and the Clean Water Act of 2006 brought in a raft of new regulations that caused a furore in rural Ontario, where about 400 communal residential well systems are regulated.
“In Ontario, we have a comprehensive safety net for drinking water that keeps our drinking water among the best protected in the world,” the ministry says.
The Prettys have spent tens of thousands on their drinking water system and don’t want to face the prospect of kicking out tenants, who pay between $900 and $1,200 a month.
“I’m not an activist. I’m really not, but I’m fed up with this water thing. I really am.”
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@ottawacitizen.com.
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
查看原文...
