THE DISGRACE OF THE THIRD WORLD WATER SYSTEM IN WEST MONTROSE IS OVER AT LAST

You know before the Walkerton E.Coli bacteria crisis that caused seven deaths and the poisonings of a couple of thousand people, the raw water source in West Montrose was bad but not so ridiculously awful as it was after the Ontario Clean Water Act and the O'Connor Commission Report was released. Likely there were other water sources filled with bacteria that at times were problematic but thank god were not run by alcoholic morons and supervised by typical incompetent politicians and bureaucrats.

That said the West Montrose water system plodded on full of bacteria right at the four floodplain wells. How could those wells not be filled with bacteria? Each spring when the Grand River flooded they were submerged. The rest of the time they were recipients of the flow from the upgradient septic systems in West Montrose. The Region knew this full well. All the tankers of water poured into the West Montrose reservoir weren't due to a lack of water in the Grand River. After all that's why there's a dam (Shand Dam/Belwood) upriver in order to maintain the flow in the Grand in the drier summer months.

Yes there was a functioning water treatment system on Tallwood Drive in West Montrose. However,the Walkerton Inquiry and the O'Connor Report was very clear. Drinking water needs to be protected from the source to the taps at the end of the distribution system. The reason for this is the probability of either human or mechanical error anywhere within the water treatment system. West Montrose residents were one error away for decades from disaster. That is now removed due to the pipeline carrying water from the Region's Integrated Urban System (IUS) over to Conestoga and then along to West Montrose.

At least likely bacteriological disaster is removed. Unknown or untested industrial chemicals are something altogether different. Also what health conditions have either been caused or exacerbated by decades of source bacteria possibly/probably on occasion getting through the treatment system?