An assessment of the impact of clean water legislation and regulations on small town service provision.

摘要

The Walkerton incident in May 2000 dramatically changed the provincial government's attitude towards drinking water, resulting in the introduction of new legislation and regulations to safeguard drinking water across Ontario. This research is an investigation of the impact of these regulations and legislation on small town water and sewer systems. Accordingly, this study examined the capacities of small towns, particularly their performance and process at the organizational level, in order to cope with these Acts. The research was carried out in thirteen municipalities by using key informant interviews; ten operators of the plants and nine mayors were interviewed for this research. The findings of the study show that small municipalities are facing tremendous problems in attempting to comply with these Acts. They need financial and human resources to ensure safe drinking water for their inhabitants.