General News

Mono keeps diligent eye on municipal water systems

April 9, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Mono residents can drink with confidence in the integrity of their municipal water systems.

Data is collected and compiled each year to ensure the Cardinal Woods and Island Lake Drinking Water Systems, which supply Mono households, meet provincial requirements.

Such reports serve as valuable reference materials, providing a wide range of operating, testing, maintenance, and compliance information and playing a key role in the municipality’s regulatory compliance and public awareness.

Those annual reports provide a basic description of the water systems, a summary of any adverse water quality incidents (AWQIs) that occurred during the reporting period, and a summary of the water quality testing results.

“The results of the required water quality testing continue to indicate that both of Mono’s drinking water systems remain in good quality and consistently meet both the microbiological and chemical-related standards,” according to a report to council.

Matt Doner, the town’s public works director, said any non-compliance issues are promptly corrected.

Both water systems operate independently and are supplied by deep aquifer wells. Deputy Mayor Fred Nix said he was annoyed that there were four non-compliance issues cited in the report with a Coles Well and one with the Island Lake system.

“These are very small, minor non-compliance issues like a piece of paper wasn’t on the wall where it should’ve been,” Nix said.

Though it isn’t a health issue, sodium levels in the Cardinal Woods wells continue to climb, and that trend is concerning, he said.

Nix attributed the sodium increase to the road salt Dufferin County spreads on County Road 16 during the winter.

“I wish we could do something about it,” he said.

Councillor Ralph Manktelow, a retired physician, raised the issue of increasing arsenic levels. Natural arsenic is found in groundwater, and he said town staff have been mindful of it.

Doner said the wells cited are particularly deep aquifer wells and, as such, unpredictable concerning arsenic.

“They fluctuate,” Doner said of the arsenic levels. “They were up even higher years ago.”

“I’m so pleased to see that we handle water in such a serious manner,” Manktelow said.

“We don’t downplay these types of things no matter how small they are,” Doner said.

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