Starting last week, Wainfleet residents began taking part in the Township’s expanded water testing program, which allows both pick-up and drop- off of water samples for testing within the Township. According to a Township statement released March 17, the first water sample bottles were retrieved by Wainfleet residents within minutes of opening the display at Town Hall.
“There has been a lot of excitement and public interest in this kind of service,” said Mayor Kevin Gibson, about the long-awaited program. “In a small rural setting with no municipal water services, the ability to test water quality is essential.”
With water testing in the Niagara Region being shut down for over a year due to the pandemic, the statement said that Gibson recognized the need for a reliable way to monitor and assess water safety. In his role on Regional Council and on the Public Health and Social Services Committee, Gibson advocated for reactivating the existing “pick-up only” program and expanding it to allow sample drop-offs in the Township.
The testing program is the first of its kind in Wainfleet, said the Township. In the past, residents could pick up bottles but had to either drop off at locations outside Wainfleet or engage with a private lab at their own expense.
“Wainfleet’s new partnership with the Niagara Region is a great value-added service for Wainfleet that increases both convenience and public safety,” said Gibson.
The Township said that the process is a safe and simple touchless approach, where bottles can be picked up in the front vestibule just inside the front doors at Town Hall and full samples dropped off to the same place. Empty sample bottles can be picked up or dropped off at any time that Town Hall is open. Bottles containing sample water can be returned during normal office hours Monday through Thursday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM, and no later than 9:00 AM on Friday.
