A new video shows how the raw water source from Lake Huron is treated at the Goderich Water Treatment Plant to become clean, safe municipal drinking water for the town’s residents, businesses and visitors. The video is the third in a local drinking water series.

Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee (SPC) released the video on March 24, 2021.

The virtual tour of the Goderich Water Treatment Plant is hosted by John Graham, Environmental Representative on the SPC and Project Manager with Veolia Water Canada Inc.

Cory Dulong, Senior Lead Operator, also helps take viewers through the complex system from intake pipe, screening debris, initial treatment, filtering, chlorination and continual testing to distribution through the Goderich water system – an eight-hour process.

The new video encourages people to protect Lake Huron, especially near the drinking water intake at Goderich.

“It’s very important that residents and visitors all know that the intake protection zone is essential because we draw our water from this area,” Graham says in the video. The most vulnerable area for the Goderich surface water system is a one-kilometre ring around the mouth of the intake pipe and includes the Goderich harbour and waterfront beaches. He also provides a water conservation message. “It is important to be mindful of water usage at all times because there’s a limited amount of fresh water for our drinking purposes,” he said. “Water conservation should be on everyone’s minds at all times.”

The source protection committee members are using videos as an effective way to safely reach out to the public during the pandemic. Prior videos in the series include SPC Industry Rep Rowland Howe on the Goderich Port Management Corporation efforts to protect water (January 2021); and SPC Public-at-Large Rep Alyssa Keller hosting a tour of the Seaforth municipal well system and water tower (October 2020).

Links to the videos are on YouTube and Facebook as well as online at sourcewaterinfo.on.ca.

In another new video, promoting the series, Matt Pearson, SPC Chair, explains that “members of our committee have developed a series of three videos to explain about water from source to tap. Normally we would like to engage with you in person but right now we need to keep everyone safe just like our municipalities keep our water safe.” Pearson said “all of us can do our part to ensure safe drinking water for now and the future.” The source protection committee will be releasing more videos about protecting our sources of drinking water in the coming weeks, he said, “so be sure to watch for them.”

Here are links to the videos so far:

• Introduction to drinking water source protection video series with Matt Pearson, SPC Chair
• Treatment of Lake Huron water at the Goderich Water Treatment Plant
• Work by industries at the Goderich harbour to protect drinking water sources
• Treatment of a groundwater drinking water source at the municipal well in Seaforth