Erickson, BC, has become the first municipality in Canada to fight successfully to keep chlorine out of its water supply. The town of 2000 in the East Kootenays had battled bureaucrats for 4 years before residents voted against chlorine in a January referendum. This paved the way for an alternative ultraviolet radiation water-treatment system.
Since 1930, Erickson residents have used untreated water from a local creek. In 1992, new provincial regulations required municipalities to disinfect their water. The town was also issued a boil-water advisory. About 300 of BC's 3500 water-supply systems are on permanent boil-water advisories; the average sewage and water-filtration system is 37 years old. By 1998, Erickson still hadn't started treating its water, and 4 years of confrontations with water-supply regulators began.
Elvin Masuch, chair of the Erickson Improvement District and a 65-year resident of the town, says opposition to chlorine is based on health risks, which he says are “well documented.”
Dr. Andrew Larder, the community's medical health officer at the time, disagrees. He says the risks posed by chlorinated water are “negligible because the water has very low organic levels. I truly believe that there has been an underestimation of the risks associated with drinking untreated water and an overestimation of the risks associated with drinking chlorinated water.”
Don Corrigal, the manager of health protection for the East Kootenay region, says Cryptosporidium poses the main risk in Erickson. He says the primary disinfection in the town will be via microfiltration and ultraviolet light radiation. Instead of chlorine, the secondary disinfection system will employ a double barrier to prevent backflow from agricultural and commercial-water connections. A chlorine injector will be available for emergencies. The secondary system adds $1 million to the system's $9-million cost, which will be paid through an $85 surcharge on municipal tax bills. — Heather Kent, Vancouver