in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Southgate, West Grey
March 11, 2025
With milder temperatures and rain in the forecast – which are expected to increase snow melts and spring runoff locally – Grey Bruce Public Health is reminding residents on private water systems to test their drinking water this spring.
“Spring is an ideal time for households in Grey-Bruce that draw drinking water from wells or other private systems to have a sample of their water tested for bacterial indicators of contamination,” says GBPH Senior Public Health Manager Andrew Barton.
“While Public Health advises residents to test their well water at least three times a year, the best times to test are when the chances of contamination are greatest, such as in early spring, after heavy rains, the spring thaw, or flooding conditions.”
Public Health Ontario operates a complimentary well water testing program.
Local residents on private systems can take advantage of this program by picking up a sample collection kit and dropping off a water sample at one of the 14 drop-off and pick-up locations throughout Grey-Bruce.
Samples dropped off at the Owen Sound and Walkerton locations are transported each weekday to a PHO laboratory for testing.
Couriers contracted by Public Health also pick up samples at locations along a Bruce County route on Wednesdays and a Grey County route on Fridays. A PHO courier then takes the samples to a PHO lab.
A map of the sample drop-off locations, along with information on when to collect samples and drop them off, is available on GBPH’s Private Drinking Water webpage.
Water samples must be tested by PHO within 48 hours of collecting the sample. Therefore, residents must collect and drop off their samples as close as possible to the scheduled courier pick-up time.
Public Health Ontario’s private drinking water testing program analyzes samples for the presence of bacterial indicators of contamination, specifically E. coli and total coliforms, which can make people sick and can even be fatal. Residents receive test results directly from PHO.
If a test comes back with an adverse result, residents can call Grey Bruce Public Health for assistance.
PHO’s water testing program is not for people on municipal water systems.
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