he help it could get. As the agency explained what was involved, Bernie could see the effort would be "huge" indeed.
Plenty of questions
ClimateCare had been installing ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems for over 10 years. But even Bernie couldn't tell customers with certainty that UV was effective against E. coli. As it happens, the head office of his supplier was located in nearby London, Ontario. Bernie's contact there was able to give him the assurances he needed -- at conventional design doses, UV is a proven defense against identified target waterborne pathogens, including bacteria, viruses and other protozoans. Ironically, Bernie learned his supplier was just preparing to launch a new series of UV systems developed specifically for point-of-entry (POE) disinfection. With variable capacities ranging up to 40 gallons per minute, the line would be ideal for residential and commercial installations in Walkerton.
But Bernie was already learning that, where drinking water is concerned, technology alone isn't enough.
Shutting down the water
"It was like going to war," Bernie recalls. "Bunker time. The whole community had to jump in and do whatever they could."
ClimateCare became "command central" for the decontamination campaign. While Bernie's plumbers headed out in OCWA vans, his dispatcher, Elaine Lippert, stayed on the radio to deploy the growing legion of plumbers arriving from all over southern Ontario to help out. According to Bernie, "the plumbers worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for three weeks straight, but Elaine put in more hours than anyone. She held it all together and still dealt with all the calls and questions from our customers."
Formula for drinking water
In Walkerton, the system was broke, but few people knew where to look for effective alternatives. In Europe, where authorities prefer to avoid chemical treatments that can impact the environment, UV has been used in water disinfection for 90 years. It controls anything that has nucleic acids, including pathogens that cause staph and strep infections, Salmonella, hepatitis and, of course, the potentially deadly consequences of the strain E. coli 0157:H7. More recently, low doses of UV have proven to be equally effective against protozoan organisms, such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, which are resistant to chlorine treatment.
JoAnn Todd also received a crash course in UV as a result of the Walkerton crisis. JoAnn is managing director of Maple Court Villa, a 56-unit retirement residence. She heard rumors of a problem with the water on the Friday before the boil-water advisory came down. She even called the utility commission and was told the water was safe. Next, she advised the health unit that three residents were ill with nausea and diarrhea. "Many of our elderly residents have fragile immune systems," she explains. "More than half of our residents became ill, two of whom later died." When the boil advisory was issued, her kitchen staff had to throw out all the foods and juices they had prepared with the contaminated water, then start boiling water to replace the stocks. Notices to stop using the water were posted in residents rooms and bathrooms, and extra staff put on to deliver safe water to residents."
Before the week was out, JoAnn received a message from Rod Black, a representative from the same UV manufacturer that supplies Reed. His company was ready to donate a UV system, almost $10,000 worth of equipment to supply Maple Court with safe water. JoAnn, unfamiliar with UV, was skeptical at first, but after meeting with Rod and learning what UV could do, she was pleased and surprised by the gift. Just two weeks after the outbreak, Maple Court had its own water disinfection system. But again, authorities weren't prepared to permit use of any unfamiliar technology. In spite of the new system, JoAnn's kitchen staff was under orders to continue boiling water from May to December 2000.
Returning to 'peace of mind'
Bernie reports that, in 2000, his UV system sales rose 10-fold over any other year. "Usually we just sell UV to farms drawing their own w