A story in The Western Star explained that, Howley residents have had to stock up on bottled water for months now because their water system produces drinking water that Councillors say does not meet with provincial standards.
I frequently see reports of occasional mishaps, but this is the first time I’ve read of a systemic failure.
In the developed world, most people take good quality tap water for granted. There is no doubt that it will become increasingly difficult to reconcile evermore stringent quality requirements with antiquated mains water pipework.
At some point, we shall have to debate more seriously what we want and what we can afford. Can it be wise to go on expecting 100% of a system to meet the highest standards when those standards are only needed for less than 1% of the supply?
Maybe there is no alternative. Maybe we’ll have to find one.
Richard Hall is chairman of Zenith International. You can also read his blog at BevBlog.
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