Halton regional council has passed a motion urging the province to “continue to provide free private drinking water testing services.”
Calling it an advocacy piece, Burlington regional councillor Kelvin Galbraith, as the mover, said he was concerned over the province’s recent announcement about “cutting the oversight of residential wells and the drinking water for those customers.”
The service, he said, is paramount to ensuring rural residents across Halton “have good drinking water."
According to the motion, there are an estimated 5,633 private residential wells in the region.
Coun. Clark Somerville said he's received about 400 calls and inquiries about private wells during the current term.
The motion references a value-for-money audit of Public Health Ontario by the auditor general released in December 2023, which includes recommendations to gradually close six of its 11 laboratory sites, including the Hamilton Public Health Ontario lab, and discontinue free private drinking water testing.
The Hamilton facility, one of the largest in Ontario, provides essential testing services for private drinking water samples and diseases of public health significance, supporting six locations -- including Halton -- according to the motion.
“Water analysis by licensed laboratories is costly and the discontinuation of free private drinking water testing may result in reduced testing, disproportionately impacting Halton’s rural residents, especially vulnerable populations who rely on accessible and reliable water testing services to ensure safe drinking water," the motion reads.
The closure “may impact the rapid identification and control of outbreaks of infectious diseases in Halton Region and delay and/or compromise sample analysis and reporting.”
The potential lab closures have faced backlash from rural residents, opposition parties and union workers, with some labelling the move as “short-sighted and dangerous.”
In mid-May, Health Minister Sylvia Jones assured that the province intends to continue offering free well-water testing for private residents.
-With files from Michael Owen and Sneh Duggal
