Thompson Rivers University’s (TRU) Water & Wastewater Technology Program provides education and training for the operation, treatment and distribution of water and wastewater systems. In British Columbia, there are approximately 4,800 small water systems registered. A small drinking water system is a water supply system that serves up to 500 individuals during any 24-hour period.
Of these registered small water systems, about 10% of them are on some form of public notification at any one time. Of the 280 First Nations water systems, less than 10% are on some form of public advisory. Being on public advisory means the small water systems are not able to deliver safe water to the consumer.
We are often contacted by operators of small water systems, looking for technical advice and resources. The operators of these systems want the knowledge and technical resources to help them consistently provide clean, safe and reliable drinking water to their communities. They want to meet government regulations, but need to overcome operational, maintenance and financial constraints. Many small systems remain isolated, or are not in contact with other nearby small or large systems to share information or to cooperate on common goals and objectives.
We’ve put together everything small water system operators need to know about regulations, treatment, distribution, operations (including water quality monitoring) and maintenance. This site provides operations and maintenance resources, tools and encouragement to help small systems develop a multi-barrier approach to delivering safe water. These self-help tools will allow small water systems operators to conduct technical assessments, recognize and assess hazards to their water system, prepare an emergency response plan and review options for system improvements. There is also guidance on how to set up business and financial structures to support the system so that it may remain sustainable over the long term.
We provide these online technical resources, free webinars and courses to help empower you to develop and operate a small water system based on risk reduction and system sustainability in order to provide safe drinking water to your consumers and community. You’ll find everything you need as a small water system operator in order to achieve the Drinking Water Treatment Objectives and outcomes specified by the Drinking Water Protection Act (DWPA), and the Drinking Water Protection Regulation (DWPR).