Parameter Viewer

Document ID ca-nt-dwnfaq-2024 Title Drinking Water in the NWT Frequently Asked Questions URL unknown Jurisdiction /ca/nt Subdomain(s) Drinking Water Language en Status completed Analyzed at 2026-03-31 15:28:58.853140+00:00 Relevance Provides information on regulatory testing requirements and operator standards.

17 Qualitative 12 Quantitative 4 Definitions

Q Qualitative Requirements (17)

Req ID	Category	Intent	Legal Status	Name	Subdomain(s)	Context	Conditions	Confidence
#Q001	monitoring	operational	mandatory	Routine Water Quality Testing Requirements	drinking water	Chlorine and turbidity are tested on a daily basis. Each month, a minimum of four water samples are taken to test for bacteria. Once per year, water samples are taken to test for chemical and physical parameters (metals, Total Dissolved Solids, pH, etc.).		high
#Q002	administrative	operational	mandatory	EHO Compliance Enforcement Responsibilities	drinking water	Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are responsible for ensuring community governments are in compliance with sampling and testing requirements.		high
#Q003	corrective_action	operational	mandatory	Non-Compliance Corrective Action	drinking water	If a community government is not in compliance, then corrective action is required. Corrective action can vary depending on the circumstances and the seriousness of the problem.	If a community government is not in compliance	high
#Q004	operational	operational	mandatory	Community Government Responsibility for Water Safety	drinking water	Primary responsibility for providing safe drinking water falls to the community governments. Community governments are responsible for ensuring that trained staff treat and monitor the water on a daily basis.		high
#Q005	corrective_action	health	mandatory	Boil Water Advisory Action	drinking water	In the event of an advisory, boil water at a rolling boil for 1 minute.	In the event of an advisory	high
#Q006	operational	operational	mandatory	Operator Certification Requirement	drinking water	Operators are required to meet experience and education standards as well as passing a certification exam.		high
#Q007	operational	operational	mandatory	Operator Continuing Education Credits	drinking water	Following certification, they must obtain yearly Continuing Education Credits by taking classes and attending conferences related to water.	Following certification	high
#Q008	treatment	health	recommended	Optimal Fluoride Concentration Recommendation	drinking water	the optimal concentration of fluoride in drinking water for dental health benefits should be 0.7 mg/L.	For dental health benefits	high
#Q009	corrective_action	health	mandatory	Total Coliform Presence Corrective Action	drinking water	The presence of total coliforms does not necessarily require a boil water advisory, but corrective actions would be taken.	Presence of total coliform bacteria in samples	high
#Q010	corrective_action	health	guidance	Total Coliform Boil Water Advisory Criteria	drinking water	A boil water advisory my also be announced if consecutive samples from a sample site or more than 10% of samples form the distribution system in a given calendar month show the presence of total coliform bacteria.	Consecutive samples from a sample site or >10% of samples from the distribution system show total coliforms	high
#Q011	reporting	reporting	mandatory	Public Notification of Unsafe Water	drinking water	You would be notified by an authority if your water is not safe to drink.	If water is not safe to drink	high
#Q012	reporting	reporting	mandatory	Operator Compliance Reporting Duty	drinking water	EHOs receive chlorine, turbidity, chemical and bacteriological reports on a regular basis from water treatment plant operators.		high
#Q013	administrative	operational	mandatory	EHO Water Treatment Plant Inspection Frequency	drinking water	EHOs also inspect each water treatment plant twice per year.		high
#Q014	treatment	health	mandatory	Water Treatment Requirement and Objectives	drinking water	Water is treated in order to kill any disease-causing microorganisms, which can be potentially fatal, and to remove any element or chemical that is above the maximum acceptable concentration or aesthetic objective of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. Water is also treated to provide safe water that looks clean, and has minimal taste and smell.		high
#Q015	corrective_action	operational	mandatory	EHO Emergency Instruction Authority	drinking water	When a problem is noted, the Environmental Health Officer has the authority to provide instructions to the community on how to deal with the problem, such as issuing a boil water advisory.	When a problem is noted	high
#Q016	administrative	reporting	mandatory	Certification Compliance Public Reporting	drinking water	Certification compliance rates are published in the GNWT Report on Drinking Water.		high
#Q017	corrective_action	health	mandatory	Boil Water Advisory Authority and Trigger	drinking water	A boil water advisory is announced by an authorized person, such as an Environmental Health Officer, when a treated water sample tests positive for	when a treated water sample tests positive for	high

P Quantitative Requirements (12)

Req ID	Category	Intent	Legal Status	Name	Subdomain(s)	Limit Type	Limit Value	Context	Conditions	Confidence
#P001	operational	operational	mandatory	Bacteria testing frequency	drinking water	requirement	>= 4 samples/month	Each month, a minimum of four water samples are taken to test for bacteria.		high
#P002	microbiological	health	guidance	Total coliform bacteria	drinking water	requirement	> 10 %	A boil water advisory my also be announced if consecutive samples from a sample site or more than 10% of samples form the distribution system in a given calendar month show the presence of total coliform bacteria.	presence in distribution system in a given calendar month	high
#P003	operational	treatment	mandatory	Boil water duration	drinking water	requirement	>= 1 minute	In the event of an advisory, boil water at a rolling boil for 1 minute.	During a boil water advisory	high
#P004	chemical	health	recommended	Fluoride	drinking water	OG	0.7 mg/L	the optimal concentration of fluoride in drinking water for dental health benefits should be 0.7 mg/L.	for dental health benefits	high
#P005	chemical	health	guideline	Fluoride	drinking water	MAC	<= 1.5 mg/L	Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines have set a maximum acceptable concentration of 1.5 mg/L of fluoride in drinking water.		high
#P006	operational	operational	mandatory	Chlorine testing frequency	drinking water	requirement	1 test/day	Chlorine and turbidity are tested on a daily basis.	Standard operation	high
#P007	operational	operational	mandatory	Turbidity testing frequency	drinking water	requirement	1 test/day	Chlorine and turbidity are tested on a daily basis.	Standard operation	high
#P008	operational	operational	mandatory	Chemical and physical parameter testing frequency	drinking water	requirement	1 test/year	Once per year, water samples are taken to test for chemical and physical parameters (metals, Total Dissolved Solids, pH, etc.).	Standard operation	high
#P009	operational	reporting	mandatory	Water treatment plant inspection frequency	drinking water	requirement	2 inspections/year	EHOs also inspect each water treatment plant twice per year.	Environmental Health Officer responsibility	high
#P010	operational	operational	mandatory	Operator continuing education frequency	drinking water	requirement	1 occurrence/year	Following certification, they must obtain yearly Continuing Education Credits by taking classes and attending conferences related to water.	Following certification	high
#P011	chemical	unknown	unknown	Natural Fluoride Concentration Range	drinking water	unknown	0.1 - 0.3 mg/L	Water sources in the NWT typically have naturally occurring fluoride levels between 0.1 and 0.3 mg/L.	Naturally occurring in water sources	high
#P012	microbiological	health	guidance	Total coliform bacteria (consecutive samples)	drinking water	requirement	>= 2 consecutive samples	A boil water advisory my also be announced if consecutive samples from a sample site... show the presence of total coliform bacteria.	Presence of total coliforms in consecutive samples from a sample site	high

D Definitions (4)

Req ID	Name	Context	Confidence
#D001	EHOs	Environmental Health Officers	high
#D002	Raw water	Raw water is water you find in nature before it is treated. This can be water straight from a river, lake or well. It also includes melted ice or snow.	medium
#D003	Treated water	Treated water is raw water that is processed in a plant to remove dirt and destroy microorganisms. Filters, chlorine and UV are some of the things used to turn raw water into treated water.	medium
#D004	Boil water advisory	A boil water advisory is announced by an authorized person, such as an Environmental Health Officer, when a treated water sample tests positive for A boil water advisory my also be announced if consecutive samples from a sample site or more than 10% of samples form the distribution system in a given calendar month show the presence of total coliform bacteria.	high