A nearly flawless pair of reports for Midland's water and wastewater were provided at the recent meeting of regular council, with high praise coming from the mayor as a result.

In the agenda package for the benefit of council and the public, only two adverse water quality incidents (AWQI) were reported through 2022 by Midland Water Services.

In March of last year, a drinking water sample taken at the Highway 12 treatment facility was registered as NDOGN (no data: overgrown with non-target). Both a form for notice of adverse test result and other problems, as well as a notice of issue resolution at drinking water systems were completed and resamples were collected. The issue was designated as closed thereafter.

Similarly, a drinking water sample at the Bayfield St. sampling station -- just one of 32 such stations servicing the town of Midland -- found an NDOGN in mid-August and took similar actions to close its status.

The other report for wastewater in the town noted that two scheduled maintenance bypass events were reported, and there were no failures to meet effluent limits or objectives by the town.

Mayor Bill Gordon took time during the council meeting to point out the highly-regarded report, and praise the staff of water and wastewater services for their exemplary work in keeping the town safe.

"Our two wastewater and drinking water reports showed that our team at the water/wastewater plant is knocking it out of the park as usual," said Gordon. "It's almost become a ho-hum that they get a 100 percent passing grade, but quite frankly none of us want to see 99 percent when it comes to our drinking water safety.

"I wanted to thank, call out, and congratulate the team at water/wastewater who consistently go above and beyond, and keep us out of jail," Gordon added in light jest.

Since the Walkerton Report incidents of 2002, provincial legislative and regulatory changes were put in place throughout Ontario municipalities to ensure the safety of residents.

"We have a responsibility that sees us more than morally obliged to make sure that the clean drinking water is delivered safely in the town," stated Gordon. "And we don't have a direct impact other than in funding; it's our team and these reports that make it happen for us."

The 2022 water and wastewater reports for the town of Midland can be found in the council agenda on the Town of Midland website.

Council meetings are held every third Wednesday, and can be attended virtually through Zoom by contacting the clerk’s department of Midland town hall for a link to the meeting.

Council meetings can also be viewed on Rogers TV cable channel 53, or through the livestream on the Rogers TV website. Archives of council meetings are available through Rogers TV and on the Town of Midland’s YouTube channel.

Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, MidlandToday.ca