The Town of Newmarket is celebrating another perfect score for its water quality testing for the fourth consecutive year.
The provincial inspection found no issues testing the municipal water and wastewater system for its annual compliance inspections in November. Town council received an update regarding the inspection March 17.
Town manager of water/wastewater Rob Gillis said the department’s message to the community is that they will always be there to support it.
“Today, tomorrow, and every day, we want you to know we’ve got you,” Gillis said. “We want you to know that, because we’re working quietly and diligently… in the background to provide the essential services that our residents and customers have come to expect.”
Municipalities are inspected annually by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks to ensure water systems are functioning well. For the fourth year in a row, the Town of Newmarket’s drinking water system received a perfect score of 100 per cent, with no notices or incidents associated with non-compliance.
“A perfect score is the highest inspection rating issued by the province and inversely indicates a low-risk rating threshold from the MECP,” the town’s annual water quality and performance report said.
While other municipalities do receive perfect scores, Gillis said, he recounted that when he asked the ministry how many had achieved four in a row, he did not receive a definitive answer. But he said he was told that Newmarket was “special.”
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said four perfect scores in a row is a “mind-boggling” statistic.
“It is an incredible accomplishment,” he said.”There’s no way you can achieve that unless you understand the importance of your job and you take pride in your job … Thank you very much.”
Gillis noted the increased focus on municipal water quality in Ontario came as a result of the Walkerton tragedy in 2000, where drinking water was contaminated and sickened thousands, and causing seven deaths.
Councillor Christina Bisanz said the water department has a strong responsiveness to any resident concern.
“To have this kind of record is quite amazing, and I certainly appreciate it,” she said.
Councillor Victor Woodhouse said it is hard to put into words how important the work is.
“The fact that people can take the water from their taps, knowing that is safe and that nobody is going to be injured or worse, is just incredible,” he said, adding that the department’s responsiveness to any issues "speaks to your professionalism and it speaks to your commitment to the kind of community I want to live in.”