Ontario water operators converge in Walkerton for vital training

Officials from the town are hosting operators from all over the world and training them in drinking water safety. CTV London’s Scott Miller reports.

Water operators from across Ontario are in Walkerton this week to learn the lessons that should help prevent another town from going through what Walkerton did.

“Because of what happened, it makes it so much more important to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” said Brett Montgomery, an Oxford County Public Works employee.

In May 2000, E.coli entered Walkerton’s drinking water system, leading to the deaths of seven people, and making thousands ill.

The town’s water operators, Stan and Frank Koebel, were charged with falsifying records in the wake of the tragedy. But an inquiry found that a lack of training played a role in the tragedy as well.

Four years after Walkerton’s E.coli disaster, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre was built.

Thousands of water operators from across Ontario now come to Walkerton each year to learn how to prevent a water-based tragedy from happening in their communities.

“This shaped a lot of the requirements that are required for water systems, like adopting a multi-barrier approach and just finding those lessons learned from the unfortunate incident that happened in Walkerton,” said Emily Fahlgren, Manager of Compliance and Operational Support for the City of Vaughan.

Today, water operators are taking part in Maintenance Fest, sharpening their skills and learning how to prevent another water tragedy with hands-on training.

“This is exactly what we’re here to do to. To give operators the tools they need to do their jobs effectively,” said Walkerton Clean Water Centre, Executive Director Brian Bates.

While it might seem like all the lessons that can be learned from Walkerton have been, Bates points out that it’s been 25 years since the tragedy. That means a lot of the new, or soon to be water operators, weren’t even born when the tragedy happened.

“I think I was probably four, so I don’t remember it at all. But, learning about it since I’ve been in this career is definitely something that makes me want to be able to do my job very well. That’s the last thing you want on your conscience, anybody getting sick or anything like that. So that’s something that’s pretty important to me,” said Montgomery, from Oxford County.

“Our job is to remind them of, you know, what can happen when you don’t do your job properly. It provides meaning and context to their job. So they take it seriously and they learn what they need to learn,” said Bates.

“It’s not about keeping the status quo. We have to continuously, continuously improve. And that’s the only way we’re going to get better and maintain the system in accordance with the regulations,” said Fahlgren, from Vaughan.

While water training is hosted in Walkerton on a weekly basis, experts from the Clean Water Centre also hit the road to offer training across the province.