Burnaby residents will be happy to know the H20 that comes out of their taps every day is pretty darn good.
On Monday, the city’s annual drinking water quality monitoring report for 2015 was presented to council, which found overall the water quality in Burnaby continues to improve over previous years.
In 2015, a total of 2,900 routine drinking water samples were obtained in Burnaby for bacteriological analysis; 1,617 samples were taken by city staff and another 1,283 samples collected by Metro Vancouver staff.
According to the report, there was no E. coli detected in any of the potable water sampled. At no time did the percentage of samples that tested positive for coliform exceed the 10 per cent stipulated in provincial water regulations.
The report also noted 93 per cent of the samples taken met chlorine residual objectives, while the pH (physical/chemical), vinyl chloride and the disinfection by-products measured as trihalomethanes, bromochloromethanes and haloacetic acids were found to be below federal guidelines.
“The city continues to provide excellent drinking water to its citizens,” said Coun. Anne Kang, who added when she hosts out-of-town guests, she gets high praise for the tap water.
She also encouraged residents to conserve water in light of last summer’s dry weather, noting the city has rain barrels available for use in gardens.
Mayor Derek Corrigan lamented over the popularity of bottled water, noting people will pay as much as they do for a litre of gasoline for water that’s no better than what comes out the tap. He argued sticking to tap water not only saves money, but also oil that’s used in producing plastic bottles.
“If you ever see those plastic bottles in our lakes and rivers you know what damage they can do,” Corrigan said.
The city will continue to replace aging water mains, undertake routine flushing of water mains and monitor water as part of its water improvement program.
