Safe Drinking Water

We need safe water for drinking, cooking, washing fruits and vegetables, doing dishes, and bathing. Drinking water can come from many different sources like wells, surface water, or a municipal system, and needs proper treatment to make it safe. In Ontario, all public water systems follow Provincial regulations to make sure that it’s safe for people to drink.

Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) works with local municipal water operators and private homeowners, who do not have access to municipal systems, to prevent water-borne illness.

What we do

Some of our services related to safe drinking water include:

Drinking water advisories
Blue-green algae
Water testing services

Drinking water advisories

NWHU works with municipalities and other water service providers to issue advisories when it’s not safe to drink the water from the public water system. Drinking water advisories can include:

Boil Water Advisories: Contaminants in the water, such as bacteria, that make the water unsafe to drink unless it is boiled. Water can still be used for other things such as bathing
Do Not Drink Order: Contaminants in the water, such as chemicals, that make the water unsafe to drink. Boiling the water is also unsafe as it can concentrate the contaminate. Other uses of water during a Do Not Drink Order will depend on the type of contaminant.
Health Information Advisory: Certain parameters in the water could make it unsafe for certain individuals. An example includes increased sodium levels in the water which could be harmful to individuals with heart problems.

When there is a drinking water advisory in place, we offer support and guidelines for childcare facilities, dental offices, health care institutions, and premises that make ice and food premises on how to operate safely during a drinking water advisory.

We may also issue orders and advisories to premises that operate their own small drinking water systems because they are not on a public system, and provide guidelines for them to safely operate during a boil water advisory or order.

Blue-green algae

Blue green algae

Blue-green algae is a microscopic plant life that naturally occurs in some freshwater bodies and is harmful to your health. Blue-green algae can develop into a bloom during favourable conditions, like shallow, slow-moving, warm water.

Blue-green algae blooms can be harmful to your health. Do not drink the water from the lake, don’t let your pets drink it, and don’t swim in it if there is a suspected bloom. Boiling water affected by blue-green algae will not make it safe. If you suspect a blue-green algae bloom, contact the Spills Action Centre at 1-866-MOE-TIPS (663-8477).

For an up-to-date list of reported blue-green algae booms, visit our Reported Blue-Green Algae Blooms page.

Water testing services

Your drinking water can come from many different sources: drilled wells, dug wells, lakes, or rivers. Bacteria or other chemical parameters can contaminate any water from these sources. No surface water is safe to drink without treatment. If your drinking water does not come from a municipal water system, it is important to test it regularly for bacteria, especially if you notice any changes in its appearance, taste, or smell.

You can pick up water sample bottles from your local NWHU office. To take a water sample properly, you can follow the instructions on Public Health Ontario’s Drinking Water Testing – Private Citizen page.

Use our water sample shipment schedule page, which changes depending on the season, to make sure that you are bringing your sample to us on the right day. We charge a nominal shipping fee to send the sample to the public health lab for you.

To test your drinking water from a well for other chemical parameters, you will need to contact an environmental testing laboratory to arrange for testing.

Shipping instructions for private water samples

If our shipping schedule does not work for you, you can send in your own sample to the public health lab.

Preparing the paperwork:

Ensure all of the shaded areas on the form are filled out.
Ensure the provided name tag sticker is completed and placed on the sample bottle.
Place a bar code sticker from the bottle on the top of the form.
Place the paperwork in the plastic bag.
For instructions on how to complete the form, use our Public Lab Water Sample Instructions form.

Preparing the sample for shipping:

Find a suitable box that will fit the sample bottle and an ice pack to keep it at the correct temperature during shipping. The ice pack can be as simple as a frozen bottle of water.
Use a filler such as crumpled newspaper so the bottle is secured in the box and won’t roll around.
Ensure the water sample is cold before putting it into the box.
Place completed paperwork in the plastic back inside the box with the water sample, not on the outside of the box.

Shipping your sample:

Choose a courier/shipping service. Samples must arrive at the lab within 24 hours from the time of sampling, and cannot freeze in the winter
Be sure to include your return address
Samples must arrive at the lab on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday

Ship to:

Public Health Lab
336 Syndicate Ave S.
Thunder Bay, ON P7E 1E3
807-622-6449

If you still have questions on how to ship a water sample to the Public Health Lab, call 1-800-830-5978.