Advantage Good Agricultural Practices Manual

4.1 Water Qualilty

Poor quality water can transfer contaminants to livestock, poultry and food.

This Good Agricultural Practice applies to:

All farms.

Useful references from OMAFRA

Improving On-Farm Food Safety through Good Irrigation Practices Fact Sheet #05-059
Water Quality and Pig Performance Fact Sheet # 91-071
Water Quality for Dairy Cattle Fact Sheet # 03-085
Locating Existing Water, Gas or Oil Wells Fact Sheet # 04-063
Water Management - Best Management Practices

What needs to be done

Reduce food safety hazards associated with contaminated water by ensuring water quality is suitable for its intended use.

How to do it

Assess Water Source

Water quality for agricultural use varies depending on the water source:

Adapted from: OMAFRA Best Management Practices, Irrigation Management, revised edition, 2004.

Assess Intended Use

Cleaning and Sanitizing

• Use potable water when cleaning and sanitizing food contact surfaces and for hand washing facilities.

Crops

• For final washing, cooling and ice making use potable water (i.e. water that complies with Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality).

  Canadian Drinking Water Standards:
  

  • E. coli: not detected in 100 mL water
  • Total coliforms: not detected in 100 mL water
    Source: Health Canada, March 2007, Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality- Summary Table.

• For irrigation, use water that complies with the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Agricultural Water Uses.

Canadian Irrigation Water Standards:

• Fecal coliforms (E. coli) : <100 bacteria per 100 mL water
• Total coliforms: <1,000 bacteria per 100 mL water
  Source: Environment Canada, 2005. Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Agricultural Water Uses.

Livestock

• There are no definite guidelines for the presence of microbes in livestock drinking water sources. Suggestions are given below:
  • Total bacteria: <10,000 per 100 mL; some reports suggest that total coliforms need only be <5,000 per 100 mL.
    Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Prairie Farm? Rehabilitation Administration.
    
    
• Canadian Water Quality Guidelines also have recommendations for heavy metals and pesticide levels for livestock drinking water.

  Test Water Quality

  Test water at the point of use (e.g. out of a tap, irrigation line), not at the source, because water can become contaminated by the time it reaches the point of use.

  To test well water for total coliforms and E. coli, contact the local public health unit. To find a local public health unit, call the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care INFOline at 1-866-532-3161.

  To test water for other components or to test water sources other than wells, contact a private accredited laboratory. For a list of these laboratories, call the toll-free Public Information Centre at 1-800-565-4923.

  Water should be tested at least once a year. Frequency of water testing is dependent on water source and intended use.
  
  

  Interpret the Results

  • If required, seek technical advice from various water, health and agricultural specialists.
  • If the results show a potential food safety hazard exists, stop using the water immediately. This source of water should not be used until it is properly treated and additional results confirm that the hazard no longer exists.
  • If water quality does not meet the requirements for the intended use, either treat the water (refer to 4.2 Water Treatment in this manual) or find an alternate source.
    

  
  Protect Water Sources

  Be aware of sources of potential water contamination, such as upstream livestock, run-off or storm sewer overflows. The Ontario Environmental Farm Plan and OMAFRA's Best Management Practices Series can provide? guidance to protect water sources and preserve water quality. See the? "Useful references" section for more information.

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  Have you completed an EFP?

  The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) is an excellent program to use to assess for protection of source water and nutrient management, but also has useful information on water quality. Contact the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association at:

  1-800-265-9751 or visit Ontariosoilcrop.org

  Reduce the risk

  Drip or trickle irrigation reduces risk because it minimizes the contact between the edible portion of the crop and the irrigation water.
  

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  Terms used in this Good Agricultural Practice:

  Potable water: Water that is safe for human drinking or consumption, unless defined otherwise by regulations.
  
  Water quality: A term used to describe the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of water, usually in respect to its intended use.
  
  

  Records to keep
  

  • Lab water quality test results
    
    

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  Important numbers

  Agricultural Information Contact Centre: 1-877-424-1300
  Ontario Ministry of the Environment Public Information Centre: 1-800-565-4923
  Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care INFOline: 1-866-532-3161
  

  Did you know?

  In 1996, contamination of Guatemalan raspberries with the parasite Cyclospora affected almost 1,500 people in the United States and Canada. Investigators believed the berries were likely contaminated when poor quality agricultural water was used to mix insecticides and fungicides and sprayed directly onto the raspberries and picked soon after. After the initial outbreak in 1996, a number of consecutive outbreaks followed, and the number of Guatemalan raspberry producers dropped from 85 to 3 by 2002. Canada, to this day, still has restrictions on Guatemalan raspberries due to the risks associated with water quality.
  

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  If you need an audit

  Be prepared for the auditor to:

  • Review lab water quality test results
  • Review the frequency established for water testing
    
    

  Laws and regulations that apply

  There are few specific laws that regulate the water quality to be used in agricultural production for food safety purposes. Generally, water quality in privately owned water systems for individuals is not specifically regulated by either the provincial or federal government, and individuals are responsible for ensuring their water is of good quality. However, requirements for very specific water quality standards are set out in laws regarding the processing of meat, fish and other food products, including egg-grading stations, as well as other services that deal with the public, which are outside the scope of this document. Laws to protect water quality are noted below.
  
  Health Canada's Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality and the Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards set out the requirements for testing and for maximum allowable levels of specified microbes or chemicals in water that will be consumed by humans.

  A specific guideline for agricultural water uses sets out maximum allowable levels for specified microbes or chemicals for irrigation water and livestock water. These are based on crop sensitivity and/or food safety concerns, such as concerns about certain toxic chemicals that may bioaccumulate in animals or about the presence of coliforms. See "Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Agricultural Water Uses: Summary Table," updated October 2005 at www.ccme.ca/publications/ceqg_rcqe.html. Note that these are guidelines and not legal standards. Check with your local health inspector for water quality standards applicable to your agricultural operation.
  
  Milk Act, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 761, s. 12 (m) sets out requirements for a milkhouse to have adequate amounts of hot and cold potable water under adequate pressure. Their commodity quality assurance program specifies further water quality standards that must be met. Check with commodity groups to determine if they require specified water quality
  standards for production.

  The Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 32 and Regulations, such as the Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards, O. Reg. 169/03, set out requirements for water systems in Ontario. The Regulation for Non- Residential and Non-Municipal Seasonal Residential Systems That Do Not Serve Designated Facilities, O. Reg 252/05, s. 10 requires that the owner of a drinking water system that includes a well used as a raw water supply shall ensure that the well is constructed and maintained to prevent surface water and other foreign materials from entering the well. Note: Agricultural operations with a rate of 2.9 litres/second or less are deemed to be small municipal non-residential systems for the purposes of this regulation, but if they do not serve any public facility, then this regulation does not apply.
  
  Well owners are legally responsible for wells on their property. The proper construction, maintenance and decommissioning of private wells is governed by the Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O. 40., Water Wells Regulation, O. Reg 903, s. 20 (3) requires well owners to maintain the well to prevent the entry into the well of surface waters or other foreign matter.
  
  Producers who use surface or groundwater on their farms for irrigation, drinking water for livestock, wash water, cooling water or other purposes should ensure that their farm practices comply with requirements in the Environmental Protection Act; Pesticides Act; Ontario Water Resources Act; Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002; and Nutrient Management Act, 2002 and Regulations to prevent contamination of water supplies by pesticides, manure run-off, wash water contamination, or other sources of chemical or biological hazards. Note that under the Ontario Water Resources Act, s. 30 (1) it is an offence to discharge any material into any water that may impair the quality of the water.
  
  The Canada Agricultural Products Act, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations (C.R.C., c. 285) Part I.1 s. 3.1 (4) (b) states that only potable water is to be used in the final rinsing of the produce to remove any surface contaminant before packing. The Canada Agricultural Products Act, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations (C.R.C., c. 285) Part I.1 s. 3.1 (4) (c) states that the final rinse water, if reused, is used only in the initial washing or fluming of the produce.
  
  

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  Other legislation to be aware of

  The Nutrient Management Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 4 and Regulation 267/03 restrict livestock access to surface water?(O. Reg. 267/03, s. 57) in certain circumstances.
  
  The Pesticides Act, R.S.O. 2990, c. P. 11, R.R.O, 1990, Regulation 914, s. 25 (1) prohibits use of water from a well or from a lake, river or other water surface in using pesticide application equipment unless it is equipped with an effective device to prevent backflow. Similarly s. 25 (2) prohibits washing pesticide application equipment in or near a well, lake, river or other surface water in such a manner that any pesticide may be directly or indirectly discharged into such surface water.

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  Proceed to 4.2 Water Treatment

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