8. DRINKING WATER QUALITY management SYSTEM OPERATIONAL PLAN

PLAN D’EXPLOITATION PORTANT SUR LA GESTION DE LA QUALITÉ DE L’EAU POTABLE

Committee recommendations

That Council:

1. Endorse the Operational Plan;

2. Direct staff to submit an application to the Ministry of the Environment prior to January 1, 2009 for:

a. Third Party Accreditation of the Operational Plan (Limited Scope, Entire DWQMS);

b. A Drinking Water Works Permit; and

c. A Municipal Drinking Water License.

3. Request that a special meeting of Planning and Environment Committee be scheduled for Q1 2009 with the purpose to inform Members of Council regarding Owner Obligations under Section 19 of the Safe Drinking Water Act as these relate to the Standard of Care requirements and obligations of the Owner and those involved with the oversight of the Operating Authority.

RecommandationS du Comité

Que le Conseil :

1. entérine le plan d’exploitation; et

2. demande au personnel de soumettre une demande au ministère de l’Environnement avant le 1er janvier, 2009 concernant :

a. l’agrément du plan d’exploitation par une tierce partie (portée limitée, ensemble de la Norme de gestion de la qualité de l’eau potable;

b. un permis d’aménagement de station de production d’eau potable; et

c. un permis municipal d’eau potable.

3. demande que soit organisée au premier trimestre de 2009 une réunion extraordinaire du Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement visant à renseigner les membres du Conseil au sujet des dispositions de l’article 19 de la Loi ayant trait à la salubrité de l’eau potable concernant le degré de diligence et les obligations du propriétaire et des personnes qui supervisent l’organisme d’exploitation.

Documentation

1. Deputy City Manager's report, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability, dated 28 October 2008 (ACS2008-ICS-WWS-0020).

2. Extract of Draft Minutes 43, 14 November 2008.

Report to / Rapport au:

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

and Council / et au Conseil

28 October 2008 / le 28 octobre 2008

Submitted by / Soumis par: Nancy Schepers,

Deputy City Manager / Directrice municipale adjointe

Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability / Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités

Contact Person / Personne ressource: Dixon Weir, Director / Directeur
Water and Wastewater Services / Services de l’eau et des eaux usées

613-580-2424 x22002 Dixon.Weir@ottawa.ca

City-Wide / À l’échelle de la Ville

Ref N°: ACS2008-ICS-WWS-0020

SUBJECT: DRINKING WATER QUALITY management SYSTEM OPERATIONAL PLAN

OBJET: PLAN D’EXPLOITATION PORTANT SUR LA GESTION DE LA QUALITÉ DE L’EAU POTABLE

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Planning and Environment Committee and Council:

1. Endorse the Operational Plan;

2. Direct staff to submit an application to the Ministry of the Environment prior to January 1, 2009 for:

a. Third Party Accreditation of the Operational Plan (Limited Scope, Entire DWQMS);

b. A Drinking Water Works Permit; and

c. A Municipal Drinking Water License.

3. Request that a special meeting of Planning and Environment Committee be scheduled for Q1 2009 with the purpose to inform Members of Council regarding Owner Obligations under Section 19 of the Safe Drinking Water Act as these relate to the Standard of Care requirements and obligations of the Owner and those involved with the oversight of the Operating Authority.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement et le Conseil municipal :

1. entérinent le plan d’exploitation; et

2. demandent au personnel de soumettre une demande au ministère de l’Environnement avant le 1^er janvier, 2009 concernant :

a. l’agrément du plan d’exploitation par une tierce partie (portée limitée, ensemble de la Norme de gestion de la qualité de l’eau potable;

b. un permis d’aménagement de station de production d’eau potable; et

c. un permis municipal d’eau potable.

3. demandent que soit organisée au premier trimestre de 2009 une réunion extraordinaire du Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement visant à renseigner les membres du Conseil au sujet des dispositions de l’article 19 de la Loi ayant trait à la salubrité de l’eau potable concernant le degré de diligence et les obligations du propriétaire et des personnes qui supervisent l’organisme d’exploitation.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On May 18, 2007, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry the "Licensing of Municipal Drinking-Water Systems Regulation (O. Reg 188/07)". Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Ministry of the Environment requires all owners of municipal drinking water systems to obtain licensing for the operation of these systems. These licenses will require five elements, as listed below:

A Drinking Water Works Permit.
A Permit to Take Water for every drinking water system.
An Operational Plan compliant with the requirements of the Drinking Water Quality Management Standard.
An Accredited Operating Authority.
A Financial Plan (not required until 2010).

By January 1, 2009, the City of Ottawa, together with all of the other major water suppliers in the province, must apply for a Municipal Drinking Water License and a Drinking Water Works Permit, and must submit an Operational Plan to meet the requirements of the MOE Licensing of Municipal Drinking Water Systems Regulation. The Operating Authority of the water systems will be accredited upon successful completion of an accreditation audit of the Quality Management System, expected to take place in early 2009. The only element not currently part of that license requirement is the Financial Plan. The Department will be submitting a report to Committee and Council in 2009 to provide more detailed information on this important requirement.

The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s endorsement of the Operational Plan and also for Council to direct staff to submit the Operational Plan to the Ministry of the Environment, and to apply for a Drinking Water Works Permit and a Municipal Drinking Water License. It should be noted that the Department is seeking a conditional accreditation, as defined as the option of a Limited Scope – Entire DWQMS, which means that the Accreditation Body will perform a desktop systems audit only on the documentation of elements 1 through 20 of the Operational Plan. Upon successful completion of this audit, the City will be issued a Certificate of Accreditation (Limited Scope – Entire DWQMS), which will be conditional upon the City applying for a Full Scope Accreditation within twelve (12) months of the Limited Scope Accreditation being issued. A Full Scope Accreditation will not only involve a desktop review of the Operational Plan, it will also involve an on-site verification of the implementation of the Operational Plan.

RÉSUMÉ

Le 18 mai 2007, le ministère de l’Environnement (MEO) a inscrit au Registre environnemental établi en application de la Charte des droits environnementaux le règlement intitulé « Licensing of Municipal Drinking-Water Systems Regulation » (Règl. de l’Ont. 188/07). En vertu de la Loi sur la salubrité de l'eau potable, le ministère de l’Environnement exige que les propriétaires de réseaux municipaux d’eau potable obtiennent une approbation pour exploiter ces réseaux. Cette approbation comporte les cinq éléments suivants :

un permis d’aménagement de station de production d’eau potable;
un permis de prélèvement d’eau pour chaque réseau d’eau potable;
un plan d’exploitation conforme aux exigences de la Norme de gestion de la qualité de l’eau potable;
un organisme d’exploitation agréé;
un plan financier (à partir de 2010).

D’ici le 1^er janvier 2009, la Ville d'Ottawa, de même que tous les autres grands fournisseurs d’eau dans la province, devra demander un permis municipal d’eau potable et un permis d’aménagement de station de production d’eau potable et présenter un plan d’exploitation répondant aux exigences du règlement 188/07 susmentionné, appliqué par le ministère de l’Environnement. L’organisme d’exploitation des réseaux d’eau potable fera l’objet d’une vérification d’agrément de son système de gestion de la qualité, vérification qui devrait avoir lieu au début de 2009. Le plan financier est le seul élément qui, pour le moment, n’est pas une exigence d’obtention du permis. Un rapport donnant des renseignements plus détaillés sur cet important élément sera présenté au Comité et au Conseil en 2009.

Le présent rapport a pour objet de demander au Conseil d’entériner le plan d’exploitation, ainsi que de lui demander d’enjoindre au personnel de présenter le plan d’exploitation au ministère de l’Environnement et de demander un permis d’aménagement de station de production d’eau potable et un permis municipal d’eau potable. Nous précisons que la demande concerne un agrément conditionnel, selon la définition de l’option de portée limitée – ensemble de la Norme de gestion de la qualité de l’eau potable, ce qui signifie que l’organisme d’agrément effectuera une vérification au bureau des systèmes portant uniquement sur les pièces justificatives des éléments 1 à 20 du plan d’exploitation. Une fois cette vérification menée à bonne fin, la Ville recevra un certificat d’agrément (portée limitée, ensemble de la Norme de gestion de la qualité de l’eau potable), sous réserve que la Ville demande un agrément accordé à la suite d’une vérification complète dans les 12 mois de la délivrance de l’agrément de portée limitée. L’agrément accordé à la suite d’une vérification complète nécessite non seulement un examen au bureau du plan d’exploitation, mais aussi la vérification sur place de la mise en œuvre du plan d’exploitation.

BACKGROUND

The City of Ottawa currently owns and provides drinking water services through the following municipal drinking water systems:

· the Central Water Distribution System including the Lemieux Island and Britannia Water Purification Plants;

· the Vars Municipal Drinking Water System;

· the Carp Municipal Drinking Water System;

· the Munster Hamlet Municipal Drinking Water System; and

· the Kings Park (Richmond) Municipal Drinking Water System.

Staff is also in the process of commissioning the new Shadow Ridge Municipal Drinking Water System, which will also require the development of an Operational Plan and will be included in the current Plan. The City of Ottawa is the Operating Authority for this system and will assume ownership in two years following a successful commissioning of the facility.

The DWQMS has been developed based on the “Plan”, “Do”, “Check” and “Improve” concept of many other Quality Management Standards such as ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). However, the Standard has been tailored to satisfy the particular conditions of municipal drinking water systems in Ontario. The DWQMS contains 21 elements covering the broad spectrum of service delivery from system operations, testing and monitoring, infrastructure renewal and rehabilitation, emergency management and personnel coverage and competencies. The individual elements are listed in the next table:

Table

1 - Quality Management System	11 - Personnel Coverage
2 - Quality Management System Policy	12 - Communications
3 - Commitment and Endorsement (of Senior Management)	13 - Essential Supplies and Services
4 - Identification of a Quality Management System Representative	14 - Review and Provision of Infrastructure
5 - Document and Records Control	15 - Infrastructure Maintenance, Rehabilitation and Renewal
6 - Drinking Water System Description(s)	16 - Sampling, Testing and Monitoring
7 - Risk Assessment	17 - Measurement and Recording Equipment Calibration and Maintenance
8 - Risk Assessment Outcomes	18 - Emergency Management
9 - Organizational Structure, Roles, Responsibilities and Authorities	19 - Internal Audits
10 - Competencies	20 - Management Review
21 - Continual Improvement

Operational Plan

The Operational Plan required by the Municipal Drinking Water License program is the document prepared by the Operating Authority detailing exactly how the City is complying with the Province’s DWQMS for each of its drinking water systems.

The Operational Plan is required to demonstrate at a policy level, how the City is complying with each of the PLAN, DO, CHECK and IMPROVE steps for all 21 elements of the Standard. The Operational Plan will make frequent reference to other, more detailed supporting documents, such as Standard Operating Practices and Procedures.

While many of the elements of the DWQMS involve the work of only the Drinking Water Services Division, many of the elements of the DWQMS listed above involve work performed by City staff outside of the Drinking Water Services Division and Water and Wastewater Services Branch. For this reason, the development of the Operational Plan has involved the close cooperation and involvement of the many Branches and Divisions throughout the Corporation.

The City operates multiple drinking water systems; therefore it has the choice of combining the common components of the Quality Management System into one Operational Plan covering all six drinking water systems or to produce separate, individual Operational Plans for each of the drinking water systems. Given the fact that many aspects of our operations are common to all systems, it has been staff’s approach to develop one Operational Plan covering all six municipal drinking water systems.

Work has been underway since early 2007 in the development and preparation of the Operational Plan. The City has retained the services of BRI International Inc., who have partnered with RV Anderson Associates Limited, to assist in the significant effort required to prepare the Operational Plan. The development of the Operational Plan has also compelled City staff to document, in a consistent manner, all of the activities undertaken in providing drinking water services operations. Through the process of developing the Operational Plan, it has become clear that the Operational Plan itself is simply the “tip of the iceberg”, with a much greater amount of work required in updating and, in many cases, documenting for the first time the myriad of other detailed activities required to consistently produce and distribute high quality drinking water.

It is recognized that Operational Plans must be continually reviewed and updated to reflect changes in drinking water system size, scope, policies, practices, operations and most importantly, to reflect continual improvement. It will be necessary to continue to devote staff time and resources to ensure that the Operational Plan continues to reflect ongoing operations.

Owner Obligations

Councillors should be aware of this major initiative, as it directly affects drinking water system operations and reporting. As the Owner of the system, Council will need to endorse the Operational Plan. This report is a follow-up to regular updates provided by staff in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Once the Owner has endorsed the Operational Plan, the Owner is to forward the Plan to the Ministry of the Environment.

Section 19 of the Safe Drinking Water Act establishes the Standard of Care requirements and obligations of the Owner and those involved with the oversight of the Operating Authority. The Standard of Care requires that in relation to drinking water, the Owner exercise a level of care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would be expected to exercise in a similar situation. With a Municipal Drinking Water Licensing program and the Operational Plan and Accredited Operating Authority, Council will have the tools available to provide this Standard of Care.

The Safe Drinking Water Act imposes a number of clear oversight responsibilities on municipal Councillors. The MOE has indicated that Section 19 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (Standard of Care) will come into force on January 1, 2013.

Accredited Operating Authority

The fourth prerequisite of the new municipal licensing program is that the Owner, in this case the City, retains an Accredited Operating Authority to operate the municipal drinking water system. The accreditation process for the Operating Authority will be similar to a number of accreditation programs in Canada, such as the ISO Standards referenced above, and must be conducted by an external third party. The Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) will manage the accreditation process.

Unlike all other Canadian third party QMS audits, municipal drinking water systems audit reports will be subject to public disclosure. The City of Ottawa will be among the first drinking water suppliers to be subjected to this new and unique DWQMS Standard.

Essentially, the accreditation process will require a review of every element of the City’s Operational Plan for conformance to the Province’s DWQMS. The review will involve:

· a Systems Audit; and,

· an On-site Verification Audit.

The Systems Audit consists of a desktop review of the Operational Plan for conformance to the DWQMS. Upon completion of the Systems Audit, the Operating Authority will be provided with a Systems Audit report identifying major and minor non-conformances and audit observations. The Operating Authority will be required to formally respond to and correct items of non-conformance. The Operational Plan must be updated prior to initiating an On-site Verification Audit.

As the name implies, the On-site Verification Audit will require an audit team to be on-site with the Operating Authority. The purpose of this audit will be to confirm that the Operational Plan has been effectively implemented through interviews with City staff. Once the audit is complete, the Operating Authority will be provided with an On-site Verification Audit report identifying major and minor non-conformances and audit observations. In some cases, it may not be possible to immediately address non-conformance items, and the Operating Authority may be required to develop a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to address these issues. The on-site Verification Audit will only be considered complete with the amendment of the Operating Plan and the correction of any non-conformances or the acceptance of the CAP by the Auditor.

Once all phases of the accreditation process have been successfully completed, the Accreditation Body will issue to the Operating Authority the Certificate of Accreditation. The Accreditation Body will similarly notify both the MOE and the Owner of the audit outcomes and provide copies of all audit reports and reconsiderations. The Accreditation Body will make available to the public the results of the audit, within 90 days of any audit, including any recommendation respecting accreditation.

It will be necessary for every Operating Authority to be audited every year. The degree and scope of the audit will vary such that the first two years following a successful full audit will be partial audits. It is expected that the degree of on-site assessment will be affected by the previous year’s audit performance of the Operating Authority. However, every third year, a full re-accreditation of all elements of the Operating Plan must be successfully completed. It is important for the Owner and Operating Authority to note that the Operating Authority must pass every annual audit in order to retain its Certificate of Accreditation. A failure by the Operating Authority to retain accreditation may result in the Owner having to make modifications to its Operating Authority. These modifications may require organizational changes to the Operating Authority to improve accountability, or more fundamental changes may be required such that the Owner may need to temporarily replace its Operating Authority with another Operating Authority as directed by the MOE.

It is also important to note that even with this Third Party Accreditation process, the MOE will retain its own Annual Inspection and Reporting process under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

As noted in the Operational Plan Section, these Plans will require continual review, modification and improvement. Any business process change will require auditing prior to being considered part of an Accredited Operating Authority practice. Should a major change occur, it would be incumbent upon the Operating Authority to request an ad hoc audit by the Accreditation Body. Less significant changes are to be covered as part of the regular annual audit cycle.

In recognition that municipal drinking water system Owners and Operating Authorities across Ontario may be in different conditions of readiness for accreditation, the MOE has built into the draft accreditation program some flexibility for an Owner and Operating Authority to select the manner and rate at which they wish to become accredited, as described below:

· Conditional accreditation based upon a full review of only some elements of the Operational Plan(s), or,

· Conditional accreditation based upon a partial review on all aspects of the Operational Plan(s), or,

· Full accreditation on all aspects of the Operational Plan(s).

The choices are explained in greater detail in the table below.

Accreditation Information	Submission Option 1 Limited Scope, Partial DWQMS Operational Plan Contents	Submission Option 2 Limited Scope, Entire DWQMS Operational Plan Contents	Submission Option 3 Full Scope, Entire DWQMS Operational Plan Contents
Resulting Accreditation	Certificate of Accreditation (Limited Scope).	Certificate of Accreditation (Limited Scope).	Certificate of Accreditation (Full Scope).
Accreditation Process	Systems Audit and On-site Verification Audit of PLAN and DO aspects of DWQMS Elements 2-8, 12 and 18-20.	Systems Audit of PLAN aspects of DWQMS Elements 1-20.	Systems Audit and On-site Verification Audit of PLAN and DO aspects of DWQMS Elements 1-21.
Future Accreditation Requirements	Must submit full Operational Plan of entire DWQMS within 12 months of receiving Limited Scope Accreditation.	Must complete On-site Verification Audit of all elements within 12 months of receiving Limited Scope Accreditation.	None required as Full Scope Accreditation has been achieved.

DISCUSSION

Element 3 of the Operational Plan requires that Top Management and the Owner provide a written endorsement of the contents of the Plan. This is the primary purpose of this report, which is to seek Committee’s and Council’s endorsement of the Operational Plan. Endorsement means that Top Management and the Owner explicitly express their support for the Plan and commit to its development and continual improvement as per the Council approved Quality Management System Policy (ACS2008-PWS-WWS-0005).

The development of the Operational Plan has been finalized and the following is an outline of the key milestones that were achieved in 2008:

· Defined and established members of Top Management;

· Appointed the Quality Management System Representative;

· Completed the final draft of the Operational Plan and posted it internally on Ozone;

· Carried out staff training and awareness sessions;

· Conducted an internal audit of the Operational Plan; and

· Conducted the Management Review by Top Management.

The internal audit was conducted over a period of five (5) days in September. Internal auditors were selected from within the various areas of the City implicated in the Operational Plan. The internal audit process yielded positive commendations, opportunities for improvements and non-conformances. The auditors found staff to be very knowledgeable and quite willing to share information and estimated that the knowledge and expertise of staff implies that competencies are strong for the provision of safe drinking water.

The following elements of the Operational Plan generated non-conformances with the Standard:

· Element 3 – Commitment & Endorsement;

· Element 5 – Document and Records Control;

· Element 8 – Risk Assessment Outcomes;

· Element 10 – Competencies;

· Element 18 – Emergency Management;

· Element 20 – Management Review; and

· Element 21 – Continual Improvement.

It should be noted that non-conformances related to elements 3 and 20 were inevitable as this was the first internal audit. The Management Review (element 20) requires that the internal audit results be reviewed; therefore, a non-conformance was cited for element 20, since the Management Review was scheduled to occur after the internal audit. Since we were expecting to make changes to the Operational Plan after the results of the internal audit and management review, it was decided to seek Council’s endorsement after those changes were made, therefore, a non-conformance was cited for element 3 since Top Management and the Owner had not endorsed the Operational Plan. Now that the Management Review is complete and with Council’s endorsement expected to be confirmed on November 26, 2008, a follow-up internal audit will be scheduled to confirm the implementation of those two elements prior to formal submission.

A follow-up audit will also be scheduled for the remainder of the elements with associated non-conformances before the end of the year. It should be noted that the implementation of element 20 (Management Review) requires that the results from the Management Review, including the identified deficiencies, decisions and action items be reported to the Owner. Staff intends to provide this information to Committee and Council in early 2009.

The non-conformances related to elements 5, 8, 10 and 21 still require significant effort to address. It should be noted that these efforts are mostly related to the implementation of the procedures as the City is in compliance with the development of the system procedures per the Standards; the internal audit revealed non-conformances related mostly to the implementation of the system procedures.

It had been staff’s intention to develop and implement an Operational Plan that would allow for a Full Scope Accreditation in early 2009. Since the internal audit and management reviews have been completed, it has become clear that the Operational Plan is not yet fully implemented and that staff requires more time to complete the following activities:

· Staff needs to incorporate the Shadow Ridge Drinking Water System in the Operational Plan.

· Significant efforts are required to finalize the procedure related to element 5 (documents and records control) as well as its implementation throughout the various areas of the City implicated in the Operational Plan.

· Important efforts are also required to conduct training sessions for both the Operational Plan as well as its supporting documents such as Standard Operating Procedures.

It is recommended that a special meeting of Planning and Environment Committee be scheduled for Q1 2009 with the purpose of informing Members of Council about Owner Obligations under Section 19 of the Safe Drinking Water Act as these relate to the Standard of Care requirements and obligations of the Owner and those involved with the oversight of the Operating Authority. This meeting is to be coordinated between the Committee’s Coordinator, the Secretariat, Legal Services and the Water and Wastewater Services Branch.

For these reasons, it is Top Management’s recommendation that the City apply for a conditional accreditation based on submission Option 2, which is a Limited Scope Accreditation based on the desktop review of the Operational Plan elements 1 to 20. The On-site Verification Audit would be conducted within twelve (12) months of receiving the conditional accreditation. It is Staff’s intention to submit an application for the Full Scope Accreditation by the end of June 2009.

The Regulations require that the City of Ottawa submit an application to the Ministry of the Environment by January 1, 2009 for:

· Third Party Accreditation of the Operational Plan;

· A Drinking Water Works Permit; and

· A Municipal Drinking Water License.

With Committee and Council’s endorsement of the Operational Plan and staff’s submittal of the necessary documents for a Limited Scope – Entire DWQMS accreditation and other documentation required for the Permit and License, this ensures that the City of Ottawa will be in full compliance with the regulatory requirements of the new Municipal Drinking Water Licensing program.

CONCLUSION

Staff have previously reported to Council on this new regulatory requirement. The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s endorsement of the Operational Plan as well as to direct staff prior to January 1, 2009 to apply for Third Party Accreditation, to apply for a Drinking Water Works Permit, and to apply for a Municipal Drinking Water License.

Staff will submit an application for a conditional accreditation based on a Limited Scope – Entire DWQMS. The Third Party Accreditation will only involve a desktop review of the system procedures for elements 1 to 20; the on-site audit to verify the implementation of the Operational Plan will be required to take place within twelve (12) months of the City of Ottawa receiving its conditional accreditation. Staff intends to apply for a Full Scope Accreditation by the end of June 2009, with an On-site Verification Audit to be conducted by the Third Party Accreditation Body shortly thereafter.

CONSULTATION

There are no public consultation requirements of the Municipal Drinking Water Licensing program. However, it is a requirement of the DWQMS that the Owner’s Drinking Water Quality Management Policy be communicated to the public and that the Operational Plan be made available for review by the public. It is also a requirement that the results of the Accreditation Audits of the municipality’s Operating Authority be made available to the public by the Accreditation Body.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Following the Province’s release of the new Drinking Water Quality Management Standard, staff reported to Council in 2006 under cover of report ACS2006-PWS-UTL-0002-IPD and funds were approved in the 2006 Budget to address this regulatory requirement.

The only identified financial impacts of the municipal drinking water licensing scheme involve the costs incurred as a result of the Third Party Accreditation process. No information is available on costs at this time, but they are not expected to be significant on an annual basis. Funds have been requested in the 2009 Operating Budget of Drinking Water Services to cover the costs of the accreditation.

Compliance with the Drinking Water Quality Management Standard will require a significant ongoing commitment of staff time and resources that have not been previously required. The 2007 Approved Drinking Water Services Operating Budget includes two FTEs to support this initiative. Staff are not familiar with the time and resources required to support this ongoing operational requirement. As the development of the Operational Plan proceeds, staff will obtain a better understanding of whether or not the allocated resources are adequate to manage the system.

DISPOSITION

This report is scheduled to be before Council on November 26, 2008 in order to seek Council’s (the Owner) endorsement of the Operational Plan, as well as to direct staff prior to January 1, 2009 to apply for a Third Party Accreditation (Limited Scope – Entire DWQMS), to apply for a Drinking Water Works Permit and to apply for a Municipal Drinking Water License.

Staff will return to Council to provide the results of the Management Review and will also return in 2009 to seek direction and approval to apply for a Full Scope Accreditation.