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Drinking water safety action plan now in effect in Newfoundland & Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador’s new drinking water safety action plan has been enacted.

The new long-term plan, announced last week by Bernard Davis, minister of environment and climate change, focuses on improving all types of drinking water systems in Newfoundland and Labrador, including semi-public and private drinking water systems.

The plan identifies 37 actions targeting improvements to the management of drinking water systems in the areas of governance, infrastructure, risk management, regulatory frameworks, outreach, and research and innovation.

“Over the past several years, significant progress has been made regarding drinking water throughout the province, including increases in the number of certified water system operators, water treatment plants, potable dispensing water units, protected drinking water sources and disinfection systems,” Davis said.

Since 2001, significant progress has been made with the province’s drinking water safety:

• There has been a decrease in the number of boil water advisories in the province, from over 350 in 2001 to below 200 since 2017.
• From 2017 to 2022, there has been an average of 191 boil water advisories affecting 146 communities and a population of 44,000.
• Additionally, there has been a decrease in the number of non-consumption advisories on public drinking water systems since 2013.
• On average, there are eight non-consumption advisories in place at any given time affecting a serviced population of approximately 440.