Public Health Grey Bruce is coming up with its own plan to create well water test drop-off sites after Public Health Ontario (PHO) refused to reinstate a Southampton drop-off location.
The health unit says in a release, it has recently learned Public Health Ontario does not intend to increase the number of locations and is considering eliminating most of the existing drop-off sites.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra says, “Because of this, we saw an opportunity to take ownership of this issue and create a local solution.”
Grey Bruce Public Health says in a release, it’s looking to ensure full and permanent, equitable access to free well water testing services.
It plans to build its own network of water sample sites, replacing and adding to those serviced locally by a Public Health Ontario courier to make locations available within a 30-minute drive of any household in Grey Bruce.
Essentially, the local health unit would retain a courier to pick up samples at several locations of the community’s choosing and bring them to the places Public Health Ontario picks them up at to take to a lab in London.
The Ontario Ministry of Health has expressed support for GBPH’s plan to design a local solution.
Arra says, “Public Health Ontario’s private drinking water testing program is a critical, high-demand service in Grey Bruce that helps to ensure the water our rural families, farmers, visitors, and others rely on is safe to consume.”
He says, key to the program’s success in Grey-Bruce due to the region’s size and rural nature is having multiple locations.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, policy changes by Grey-Bruce hospitals resulted in a reduction in the number of available locations. Several grocery stores, which had been deemed essential businesses, stepped up to serve as temporary locations.
Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau has been sounding the alarm about the removal of the Southampton drop-off site and advocating for its return. He noted recently, the lack of a site in Saugeen Shores also affects residents of northern Kincardine, Arran-Elderslie and Saugeen First Nation who also would have benefited from that site. He also noted Saugeen Shores is a fast-growing community and the largest in Bruce County.
He says now, “The Town of Saugeen Shores welcomes this development, especially considering our residents have been without a local drop-off point since the start of the pandemic. This service is critical to ensuring the health and safety of those families who rely on private well water.”
Charbonneau adds, “I want to personally thank the Grey-Bruce Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Ian Arra, for advocating with the province on behalf of our citizens, and for exploring potential solutions that are local and specific to our needs.”
Meanwhile, the health unit says the temporary locations are still in place, along with locations in Owen Sound, Walkerton, and Lion’s Head.
Dr. Arra says Grey Bruce Public Health will be connecting with local municipalities for their input as they design this plan to ensure it meets the needs of everyone in Grey-Bruce.
