Survey of Drinking Water Plants Reporting year 2011

This document is confidential when completed.

Correct pre-printed information, if necessary, using the corresponding boxes below:

• Facility owner (legal name of corporation, company, etc.)
• Facility operator (legal name of corporation, company, etc.)
• Name of drinking water facility
• Last name - owner contact
• First name - owner contact
• Mailing address
• City
• Province / Territory
• Postal code

Please Read Before Completing

This survey is conducted under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19. Completion of this Questionnaire is a legal requirement under this act.

Survey Purpose

This survey collects detailed information concerning the quantity and quality of water processed by facilities that withdraw raw water from the environment and produce potable water for consumption. The applicable facilities range from ones with complex treatment processes to basic groundwater well supplies that provide minimal or no treatment. This data will be used to track the state of stocks of water on a regional basis in Canada and will also be used in the development of environmental accounts and indicators.

Who should complete this questionnaire?

This survey should be completed by persons knowledgeable with the treatment processes, operating costs and water quality data.

Return of Questionnaire

Please return the completed questionnaire within 60 days of receipt using the enclosed envelope. If you are unable to do so, call 1-866-445-4323 to inform us of the expected completion date. You can also fax it at 1-888-883-7999. If you have lost the return envelope or need help, call us at 1-866-445-4323.

Fax or Other Electronic Transmission Disclosure

Statistics Canada advises you that there could be a risk of disclosure during facsimile or other electronic transmission. However, upon receipt, Statistics Canada will provide the guaranteed level of protection afforded all information collected under the authority of the Statistics Act.

Multiple Water Facilities/sources

If there are multiple water facilities/sources associated with the facility identified on the mailing label, complete Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this survey for the combined total of all facilities. Complete Section 5 for the facility that provided the largest portion of water by volume in 2011.

Confidentiality

The Statistics Act protects the confidentiality of information collected by Statistics Canada.

Data-sharing Agreements

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which must keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes.

Information on confidentiality, data-sharing agreements and record linkages can be found on the last page of this questionnaire.

Please complete this questionnaire using a black ballpoint pen.

Person primarily responsible for completing this questionnaire:

• Last name
• First name
• Organization
• Telephone number, Extension
• Fax number
• E-mail address

Section 1 – Drinking Water Plant Information for 2011

Facility for which this questionnaire is completed

1. In 2011, did the facility identified on the mailing label withdraw water from the environment, in order to treat and/or convey potable water to a permanent community of 300 or more people?

• 1. Yes
• 3. No. If no, please complete the cover page and question 1 only, and return the questionnaire in the enclosed envelope. Thank you.

Source/Raw Water Type

Instructions

• Do not write in coloured areas. Comments on any section of this survey should be provided in the space on page 15.

• Indicate the percentage and type of source water (raw water) obtained for processing by this facility below. If there are multiple water facilities/sources associated with the facility identified on the mailing label, complete this part to represent the total for all associated sources.

• Indicate the number of production facilities for each source water type where raw water withdrawn from the environment was treated and/or conveyed as potable water to a distribution system.

	Percentage %	Number of production facilities
2. Surface water
3. Groundwater
4. GUDI - Groundwater Under Direct Influence of surface water

Facility Location and Coordinates

(If the address is the same as the address on page 1, indicate "same")

5. If there are multiple water facilities/sources being reported for the facility identified on the mailing label, enter the location and/or coordinates for the facility that produced the largest volume of potable water in 2011. List the names of other facilities/sources in the comments section on page 15.

• Address number
• Street or road name
• Street type (Rd, Ave, etc.)
• Name of township or municipality
• Postal code
• There is no civic address

If no civic address, answer only one of questions 6, 7 or 8. There are mapping websites and free software, such as Natural Resources Canada's "The Atlas of Canada: Toporama" and "Google Earth" that can assist you in finding coordinates either in decimal degrees, in degrees, minutes, seconds or in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM).

6. Facility Coordinates (decimal degrees)

• Latitude:
• Longitude:

7. Facility Coordinates (degrees, minutes, seconds)

• Latitude:
• Longitude:

8. Facility Coordinates (Universal Transverse Mercator – UTM zone, eastings and northings)

• Zone:
• Eastings:
• Northings:

Plant Capacity

Instructions

Capacity for 2011 is to be reported in the units used at the drinking water facility. If there are multiple water facilities/sourcesbeing reported for the facility identified on the mailing label, report the combined total for all associated sources.

9. What was the maximum rated treatment capacity of this facility in 2011? (Specify the units in question 10.)

10. Select the unit on the left and the time period on the right for the capacity value in question 9.

Unit

• 1 Cubic metres
• 2 Litres
• 3 Mega Litres (1 million litres)
• 4 Imperial gallons (1 imperial gallon = 4.5 litres)
• 5 U.S. gallons (1 U.S. gallon = 3.8 litres)
• 6 Other (specify units clearly):

Time Period

• 1 Per second
• 2 Per minute
• 3 Per day
• 4 Per year
• 5 Other (specify):

11. How many days in 2011 did the facility operate at greater than 90% capacity?

Sector Use and Population Served

Instructions

Report the percentage of water used by the sectors identified and the population served for the facility identified on themailing label. If there are multiple water facilities/sources being reported for the facility identified on the mailing label, reportthe combined total for all associated sources.

12. Of the total potable water produced, indicate the percentage consumed by each category below. If unknown, please check the "Do not know" box.

• Do not know. Go to question 14

	Percentage %
Residential
Industrial, commercial, institutional and other non-residential
Losses from the distribution system
Wholesale water provided to other jurisdictions
Total	100

13. What sources of information were used for the sector use percentages? Mark all that apply.

1. Specific study/analysis for this facility
2. Water billing accounts
3. Other (specify):

14. What was the size of the population served by this Drinking Water Plant in 2011?

1. Persons
2. Residences/connections
3. Other (specify):

15. What sources of information were used for the size of the population served? Mark all that apply.

1. Specific study/analysis for this facility
2. Water billing accounts
3. Census data
4. Other (specify):

Section 2 – Potable Water Volumes for 2011

Instructions

16. Report by month below the volumes of potable water produced by this drinking water facility. If there are multiple water facilities/sources being reported for the facility identified on the mailing label, report the combined total for all associated sources.

17. Monthly potable water volumes for 2011 are to be reported in the units used at the drinking water facility. Select theunit of measure (right column) for the volumes produced (left column) for all volumes reported in this section.

	Volumes
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Total

Unit

1. Cubic metres
2. Litres
3. Mega Litres (1 million litres)
4. Imperial gallons (1 imperial gallon = 4.5 litres)
5. U.S. gallons (1 U.S. gallon = 3.8 litres)
6. Other (specify units clearly):

18. Are potable water volumes metered or estimated?

1. Metered
2. Estimated

Section3 – Water Treatment Processes For 2011

Instructions

In this section, report the treatment processes applied to the raw/source water in 2011. Note: disinfection only (e.g. chlorination) is a treatment process.

19. Are there multiple water facilities that withdraw raw water directly from the environment being reported for the facility identified on the mailing label?

• Yes. Go to question 20
• No. Go to question 22

20. Does each facility use the same water treatment process?

• Yes. Go to question 22
• No. Go to question 21

21. For the facility that produced the largest volume of potable water, indicate what percentage of the total volume it represents:

• Go to question 22 and respond for the facility that produced the largest volume ofpotable water.

22. Is the raw water withdrawn by this facility conveyed directly without treatment as potable water for consumption?

Note: disinfection only (e.g. chlorination) is a treatment process.

• Yes. Go to question 63
• No. Complete questions 23 to 62

Instructions

In the "Process Used" column, confirm either yes or no to all the water treatment processes listed below.

Either Yes or No must bechecked for each line. Reviewthe entire list prior to makingselections.

Unit Processes for Water Treatment	Process Used
	Yes	No
Pre-treatment
23. Microscreening
24. Other pre-treatment (specify):
Disinfection/Oxidation
25. Chlorination (hypochlorites or chlorine gas)
26. Chlorine dioxide
27. Chloramination
28. UV irradiation
29. Ozonation
30. Application of potassium permanganate		(Indicate "no" if only used to recharge a greensand filtration system.)
31. Other disinfection/oxidation reagents
Chemical Treatment or Addition
32. Fluoridation (if 'yes', mark all those applied)	(If 'yes', mark all those applied. 1 Sodium fluoride 2 Sodium silicofluoride 3 Hydro-fluosilicic acid 4 Ammonium silicofluoride)
33. Alkalinity adjustment for process control
34. pH adjustment for process control
35. Corrosion control – pH adjustment
36. Corrosion control – alkalinity adjustment
37. Corrosion control – inhibitors (if 'yes', mark all those applied)	(If 'yes', mark all those applied. 1 Orthophosphates 2 Polyphosphates 3 Silicates 4 Other
Coagulation/Flocculation & Filter Aid
38. Coagulation – aluminum based coagulant
39. Coagulation – ferric based coagulant
40. Other coagulant
41. Enhanced coagulation
42. Flocculation
Clarification/sedimentation
43. Sedimentation – conventional, tube, plate or high rate
44. Dissolved air flotation (DAF) – conventional or high rate
45. Other clarification – (sludge blanket, pulsed blanket, ballasted, solids contact or other)
Filtration
46. Filtration – granular media (single, dual or triple media)
47. Granular activated carbon – used as part of filter media
48. Granular activated carbon – used as separate unit process
49. Filtration – membrane (microfiltration)
50. Filtration – membrane (ultrafiltration)
51. Filtration – cartridge/bag
52. Filtration – slow sand
Other Processes
53. Aeration – transfer of oxygen or air to water
54. Air stripping – contacting water with air to transfer contaminants to air
55. Lime softening
56. Activated alumina
57. Ion exchange
58. Sequestering
59. Greensand filtration
60. Powdered activated carbon
61. Reverse osmosis or nano filtration
62. Other processes (specify):

Section 4 – Annual Treatment Costs for 2011 Calendar Year

Capital Expenditures

Instructions

• Report capitalized costs for 2011 in Canadian dollars for the calendar year (January-December). If there are multiple water facilities/sources being reported for the facility identified on the mailing label, report the combined total for all associated sources.

• Provide capital costs related to the acquisition and treatment of source/raw water.

• Exclude costs associated with distribution.

• Include money spent to add, expand or upgrade physical assets such as:

  • property
  • buildings
  • machinery
  • processing equipment/infrastructure

• Include capitalized costs related to waste treatment processes (i.e. backwash/sludge processing and residuals disposal related to potable water production)

• Include construction and engineering costs such as:

  • installation
  • retrofitting
  • contingencies
  • contractor
  • engineering
  • legal and related administrative fees

• Include indirect costs related to capital expenditures such as:

  • housing
  • permitting
  • land
  • training
  • piloting
  • education

63. 2011 Capital expenditures: $ Millions, Thousands, Hundreds

Operation and Maintenance Costs

Instructions

• Provide Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs for 2011 related to the acquisition and treatment of source/raw water. If there are multiple water facilities/sources being reported for the facility identified on the mailing label, report the combined total for all associated sources.

• Exclude costs associated with distribution.

• Include the following:

  • materials (chemicals and replacement parts)
  • labour (internal and external staff including laboratory personnel)
  • energy

• Include other costs such as:

  • waste disposal and residuals handling related to potable water production
  • analytical/sampling costs
  • any associated administration and service costs directly related to O&M (consultants, contractors)
  • O&M costs related to waste treatment processes (i.e. backwash/sludge processing and residuals disposal related to potable water production)

64. 2011 O&M Costs

• Materials (chemicals and replacement parts): $ Millions, Thousands, Hundreds
• Labour (internal and external staff): $ Millions, Thousands, Hundreds
• Energy: $ Millions, Thousands, Hundreds
• Other (specify): $ Millions, Thousands, Hundreds
• Total: $ Millions, Thousands, Hundreds

Section 5 – Raw Water Quality Data for 2011

Instructions

• The purpose of this section is the compilation of water quality data comparable to the applicable limits in Provincial/ Territorial and/or Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality (GCDWQ). Water quality data submitted should be comparable (based on method of testing) to these guidelines where applicable.

• If there are multiple water facilities/sources associated with the facility identified on the mailing label, complete this section for the facility that provides the largest portion of water by volume with available data that reflects the source/raw water quality processed by the facility.

• Provide the number of samples, minimum, maximum, and average values for the parameters identified. If the number of samples is large due to on-line metering, enter 999.

• Enter 0 for the number of samples if the parameter is not monitored.

• For annual data (page 10), if results are not available for 2011, provide results for the most recent year available.

• When calculating an average using low level data (not detected), use 1/2 the Reported Detection Limit (RDL) if there are some values above the RDL. See example below:
  • Sample 1 0.09 mg/L
  • Sample 2 0.07 mg/L
  • Sample 3 <0.06 mg/L (non-detected) {½ RDL = 0.03}
  • Sample 4 <0.04 mg/L (non-detected) {½ RDL = 0.02}
  • Sample 5 <0.06 mg/L (non-detected) {½ RDL = 0.03}
  • Average = (0.09 + 0.07 + 0.03 + 0.02 + 0.03) / 5 = 0.048
  • Maximum = 0.09
  • Minimum = ND

  If all values are not detectable, report the minimum/maximum/average as "ND".

• Report nitrate results as nitrogen. If necessary, consult your laboratory to confirm how nitrate was reported. The conversion factor is: 1 mg/L Nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃^-- N) = 4.43 mg/L Nitrate (NO₃^-).

• Report nitrite results as nitrogen. If necessary, consult your laboratory to confirm how nitrite was reported. The conversion factor is: 1 mg/L Nitrite-nitrogen (NO₂^-- N) = 3.29 mg/L Nitrite (NO₂^-).

• Report each parameter only in the units indicated. Verify if you need to convert from micrograms per litre (μg/L) to milligrams per litre (mg/L).
  • μg/L ÷ 1000 = mg/L
  • 1 μg/L = 0.001 mg/L
  • 10 μg/L = 0.01 mg/L
  • 100 μg/L = 0.1 mg/L

• Select the reporting units for Escherichia coli and Total coliforms results on pages 11 and 12. If reporting presence/ absence results, use the maximum column to report the number of positive samples (the average and minimum columns are not applicable for Presence/Absence results).

Important: Any additional information or comments regarding the water quality data reported in this section should be provided in the comments section on page 15.

65. Report annual values for the parameters listed below in raw water for 2011 or the most recent year available. See instructions on page 9.

Parameter name and units	Number of samples per year	Minimum value per year	Maximum value per year	Average value per year	Sampling Year
Nitrate (as nitrogen) (milligrams per litre of nitrogen, mg/L-N)
Nitrite (as nitrogen) (milligrams per litre of nitrogen, mg/L-N)
Nitrate/Nitrite - Total (as nitrogen) (milligrams per litre of nitrogen, mg/L-N)
Iron (milligrams per litre, mg/L)
Manganese (milligrams per litre, mg/L)
Colour (true colour units, TCU)
Hardness (as CaCO3) (milligrams per litre, mg/L)
Arsenic (milligrams per litre, mg/L)
Fluoride (milligrams per litre, mg/L)
Sodium (milligrams per litre, mg/L)
Dissolved organic carbon (milligrams per litre, mg/L)
Total organic carbon (milligrams per litre, mg/L)
pH (no units)
Alkalinity - Total (as CaCO3) (milligrams per litre, mg/L)

66. Report monthly values for Escherichia coli in raw water for 2011. See instructions on page 9.

Escherichia Coli In Raw Water, 2011

Select units reported:

• Colony forming units per 100 millilitres (cfu/100 mL)
• Most Probable Number per 100 millilitres (MPN/100 mL)
• Presence/Absence (P/A)

Month	Number of samples per month	Minimum value per month (not applicable if reporting P/A)	Maximum value per month (Number of positive samples if reporting P/A)	Average value per month (not applicable if reporting P/A)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

67. Report monthly values for total coliforms in raw water for 2011. See instructions on page 9.

Total Coliforms in Raw Water, 2011

Select units reported:

• Colony forming units per 100 millilitres (cfu/100 mL)
• Most Probable Number per 100 millilitres (MPN/100 mL)
• Presence/Absence (P/A)

Month	Number of samples per month	Minimum value per month (not applicable if reporting P/A)	Maximum value per month (Number of positive samples if reporting P/A)	Average value per month (not applicable if reporting P/A)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

68. Report monthly values for turbidity of raw water for 2011. See instructions on page 9.

Turbidity Of Raw Water, 2011

Month	Number of samples per month	Minimum value per month	Maximum value per month	Average value per month
		Nephelometric turbidity units (NTU)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

69. Report monthly values for temperature of raw water for 2011. See instructions on page 9.

Temperature Of Raw Water, 2011

Month	Number of samples per month	Minimum value per month	Maximum value per month	Average value per month
		degrees Celsius (°C)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Section 6 – Comments

70. Approximately how long did it take to collect the data and complete this survey?

71. We invite your comments on any section of this survey below. Please be assured that we review all comments with the intent of improving the survey.

General Information

Confidentiality

Your answers are confidential.

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act, including paragraph 17(2)(g). The confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act are not affected by either the Access to Information Act or any other legislation. Therefore, for example, the Canada Revenue Agency cannot access identifiable survey records from Statistics Canada.

Information from this survey will be used for statistical purposes only and will be published in aggregate form only.

Data-sharing agreements

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which must keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.

For this survey, there is a Section 11 agreement with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and theYukon.

The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician and returning it with the completed questionnaire. Please specify the organizations with which you do not want to share your data.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with Health Canada, Environment Canada and the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Record Linkage

To enhance the data from this survey, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Lost the return envelope or need help?

Call us at 1-866-445-4323 or mail to :

Statistics Canada, Operations and Integration Division,
Central Reception, SC0505 Main Building
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6

Thank you for completing this questionnaire.

Please retain a copy for your records. Visit our website at www.statcan.gc.ca