title: The status of drinking water in Ontario, Canada (1992-1999).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of public water works (PWW) in southern Ontario with respect to their water sources and treatment regimes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 481 PWW covering the period 1992-1999 were collected and cartographic manipulations as well as descriptive analyses of the PWW attributes were performed. Tests of associations between different PWW attributes were done using Fisher's Exact test and Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Water sources for the PWW included surface water (SW) (21% lakes; 13% rivers), ground water (GW) (64%) and mixed sources (2%). Most (81%) of the population was supplied with SW. Filtration was performed by 84% and 8% of the PWW using SW and GW, respectively. Similarly, disinfection was performed by 99% and 91% of the PWW using SW and GW respectively. There was no significant difference in treatment regimes between PWW in urban and those in rural areas but treatment regime was a function of water source. Overall, most PWW (87.8%) met the minimum treatment requirements of the then Ontario Drinking Water Objectives (ODWO).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study shows that most PWW complied with the minimum treatment requirements of the then ODWO. The minimum treatment required by the ODWO was disinfection for GW and both disinfection and filtration for SW. The non-compliant PWW will need to comply for continued provision of safe drinking water. Suffice it to say that both watershed protection and improved water treatment will be imperative for the continued provision of safe drinking water and control of waterborne diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON.
authors.forename: Agricola
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Odoi
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aramini
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Majowicz
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meyers
authors.forename: Wayne S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sockett
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D016208:Databases, Factual; D009864:Ontario; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*