Safe water in Canada involves using science to develop guidelines so that we can set levels to protect people, wildlife and the environment.

Guidelines for water quality - or safe levels - are the work of provincial, territorial and federal governments. Guidelines are developed, in part, by monitoring substances in water and by doing scientific research on how these can affect the safety of the water for different uses.

Depending on the province, guidelines may be either voluntary or mandatory, and in many provinces they are mandatory. They can also be used by provinces and territories to back up the standards, goals or practices, that say what must and should be done, by those responsible for managing water.

There are different kinds of guidelines. For instance, there are guidelines for drinking water. They currently define 'safe levels' for more than 85 different microbiological, physical, chemical and radiological parameters, such as bacteria, odour, arsenic and radon.

There are also guidelines for recreational water quality to protect the health of Canadians using water for swimming, boating and other activities. These guidelines help to ensure that recreational waters are as free as possible from microbiological, physical and chemical hazards.

Guidelines for water quality for protection of aquatic life are developed to protect all plants and animals that live in lakes, rivers and oceans. There are also guidelines for protecting agricultural water use to make sure that sensitive crop species are not exposed to harmful substances during irrigation, or to ensure that livestock are not harmed by the water they drink.

Finally, there are guidelines for sediment quality to protect aquatic organisms living in or near sediments, and those for levels of contaminants in the food of wildlife.

From the information gathered in the development of guidelines, and from monitoring and research, we can also figure out the best way of managing water. These best management practices (BMPs) are ways of sharing experience on the best way of protecting water quality or ecosystem health.

The CCME Water Quality Task Group

The mandate of the Water Quality Task Group consists of 1) developing water, sediment and tissue guidelines for the protection of aquatic life, and guidelines for livestock watering and irrigation and 2) carrying out technical work for the CCME water agenda, supporting the priorities established by the Council of Ministers in promoting the protection of water “From Source to Tap”. The Task Group reports directly to EPPC with respect to guideline development and to the Water Coordination Committee (WCC) on work related to the CCME water agenda. The National Guidelines and Standards Office of Environment Canada acts as the Technical Secretariat for the Task Group.

Federal Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water

The Committee is responsible for the establishment of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. Through a consensus process, it votes on all proposed guidelines, and makes its recommendation to its parent committee, the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Committee on Environmental and Occupational Health (CEOH). CEOH must then approve all new or revised guidelines.

The Committee is comprised of representatives from all provinces and territories, as well as from Health Canada and Environment Canada. Health Canada acts as Secretariat to the Committee and as such supports the development of the guidelines by preparing the technical documents and coordinating and conducting research. Health Canada also prepares informational material on issues related to drinking water quality. The Committee has an established development process which outlines its Terms of Reference as well as the approach used in the derivation of the individual guidelines. The process includes extensive peer-reviews prior to national consultations. The Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality contain (interim) maximum acceptable concentrations and/or aesthetic objectives for microbiological, chemical, physical and radiological parameters of potable water obtained from all private or municipal water sources.

Canadian Legislation and Substance/Quality Database

The Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) is developing a database of Canadian legislation applicable to water quality, with the support of Health Canada, the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water, the CCME, Environment Canada, the Alberta Real Estate Foundation and the British Columbia Real Estate Foundation.