Deep River’s drinking water is getting cleaner and its wastewater treatment plant isn’t working as hard.
Those are two key takeaways from a review of the municipality’s water and wastewater facilities, which was presented to town council last week.
The review, undertaken by engineering consultants CIMA+, in conjunction with town staff, show efforts to reduce levels of trihalomethanes (THMs) coming from the water treatment plant are paying dividends.
THMs occur when chlorine reacts with organic matter in water. At elevated levels they have been associated with negative health effects, including posing a risk in the development of cancer.
The town has been working to secure a remedy for the THM problem for some time and, four years ago, secured a $3.8 million grant through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), to reduce their levels.
Canadian drinking water guidelines state that 100 micrograms per litre of THMS in drinking water are okay, but the presentation to council showed the 2024 average level of THMs in the town’s drinking water was 117 micrograms.
“It’s not unique to this system,” CIMA+’s Bradley Young told council, explaining that the problem stems from the water pulled into the water treatment plant.
“What we’re seeing along the Ottawa River is the degradation of water quality”…
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