Water and Wastewater Treatment
Background | Key Messages | Target Audience
Key Messages
The key messages Peel would like to deliver are:
- Peel's water is of excellent quality
- Protecting the source of our drinking water
- Water efficiency
Water Quality - Peel's Water is Safe to Drink
Who:
- Residents, businesses and school-aged children
What:
- Peel takes pride in ensuring its residents are provided with clean and safe water, free from pollutants that could jeopardize their health.
- Thousands of water samples are sampled annually to ensure Peel's municipal water is in compliance with Ministry of the Environment regulations and is of excellent quality.
- Peel's residents are provided with safe, quality drinking water at a fraction of the cost of bottled water. A 500ml water bottle can be refilled 42 times for just one penny.
Why:
- Manufacturers of bottled water lead consumers to believe tap water is not safe to drink and contains harmful chemicals.
- The Ontario Drinking Water Standards help to ensure that municipal drinking water is free from disease-causing organisms, hazardous amounts of toxic chemicals and radioactive materials.
When:
- Peel's water is sampled continuously year-round.
How:
- Peel's state-of-the-art water treatment facilities ensure quality water at the lowest cost in the GTA.
Source Protection - Protecting Our Drinking Water
Who:
- Residents, businesses and school-aged children
What:
- Source water can be protected by safe storage, use and disposal of chemicals, both at home and at work.
- Dispose of hazardous wastes at one of the Region's Household Hazardous Waste disposal facilities.
- In Caledon, Wellhead Protection Areas protect the integrity of the ground source systems that supply the area's water.
Why:
- Spills and improper disposal of wastes can pose a direct health threat to Peel residents and can cause severe damage to our source of drinking water and to the environment.
When:
- The Region of Peel's spill co-ordinator is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Region responds to over 500 spills annually.
How:
- Residents can protect the water source by using fertilizers and pesticides carefully, and by considering more natural forms of gardening.
- Report anyone who is illegally dumping oil or other hazardous materials.
Water Efficiency - Water Smart Peel
Who:
- Residents, businesses and school-aged children
What:
- Encourage water-efficient practices through incentives.
- Reduce individual daily water consumption by 10% by 2015.
Why:
- Water is a precious, finite resource.
When:
- Water efficiency can be practiced year-round.
- Water use increases by 50% during the summer months.
How:
- Peel's water efficiency measures are:
- System leak detection
- Indoor water audits
- Toilet replacement rebates
- Outdoor water audits
- For more information on the Water Smart Peel program, visit our Website.