Walkerton Water Tragedy
The Walkerton Water Crisis
Crisis struck Walkerton in late spring of 2000 when the small town of 5000 was struck by an outbreak of E. coli. People of the town were being sickened from their own water source. As time carried on seven people died. The problem that was on hand was a matter of ethics rivaled with Ontario drinking water quality standards. In examination of the problem it can be determined that the undermining source of the outbreak was the budget cut in the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MoE) because; the worker on site didn’t have proper training, he was not being checked on by MoE employees and he didn’t have enough budgeting to test the water frequently enough for government standards.
The First point that is considered when examining the cause of the Walkerton water crisis due to environmental budget cuts is; if the Public Utilities commissioner (PUC) in Walkerton had a government supervisor he would have been able to ensure water safety. If the manager had a government supervisor he would not have missed the first signs of a problem at the water treatment plant because they would have insured that he was taking the tests frequently. “According to Leah Casselman, the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents 580 employees at the Ontario Clean Water Agency and 1100 staff at the environment ministry, the frequency of water testing is based on how much a municipality can afford.” (Spurgeon, 2000) This shows how Walkerton was unable to test the water frequently because the town is small and it could have saved a lot of money skipping on water tests. This is a result of the budget cuts that the government made in the Ministry of Environment. Therefore the absence of the budget cuts could have saved lives and money that was spent on the crisis.
The second point that is considered when examining the cause of the Walkerton water
Crisis struck Walkerton in late spring of 2000 when the small town of 5000 was struck by an outbreak of E. coli. People of the town were being sickened from their own water source. As time carried on seven people died. The problem that was on hand was a matter of ethics rivaled with Ontario drinking water quality standards. In examination of the problem it can be determined that the undermining source of the outbreak was the budget cut in the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MoE) because; the worker on site didn’t have proper training, he was not being checked on by MoE employees and he didn’t have enough budgeting to test the water frequently enough for government standards.
The First point that is considered when examining the cause of the Walkerton water crisis due to environmental budget cuts is; if the Public Utilities commissioner (PUC) in Walkerton had a government supervisor he would have been able to ensure water safety. If the manager had a government supervisor he would not have missed the first signs of a problem at the water treatment plant because they would have insured that he was taking the tests frequently. “According to Leah Casselman, the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents 580 employees at the Ontario Clean Water Agency and 1100 staff at the environment ministry, the frequency of water testing is based on how much a municipality can afford.” (Spurgeon, 2000) This shows how Walkerton was unable to test the water frequently because the town is small and it could have saved a lot of money skipping on water tests. This is a result of the budget cuts that the government made in the Ministry of Environment. Therefore the absence of the budget cuts could have saved lives and money that was spent on the crisis.
The second point that is considered when examining the cause of the Walkerton water