New water plant will solve THM problem: Gander mayor

A new water treatment plant should bring potentially dangerous chemicals in Gander's drinking water down to well below acceptable limits, the town's mayor says.

The most recent study on the quality of Newfoundland and Labrador's drinking water supplies indicates that Gander has double the acceptable level of trihalomethanes (THMs).

THMs have been recognized as a potential threat to human health. They are formed when chlorine comes into contact with organic matter, such as leaves.

Gander Mayor Claude Elliott says the town's new water treatment plant will make drinking water safer.

"We knew we needed to do something with the THMs level, to get it down and we decided that the new water treatment plant was the best way to go," Elliott said.

A new $8.9-million facility is expected to be operational by November.

Elliott said the plant will bring THM counts down to about one third of acceptable limits.

Meanwhile, Elliott said proceeds from the new $82-million gas-tax program will help smaller towns improve their drinking water. The funds are intended to be used for environmental projects, such as waste management.

"A lot of smaller municipalities… don't have the infrastructure, neither do they have the money, and hopefully now with the gas-tax money coming on,some municipalities can use that to lever more money to upgrade their water," he said.

In 2005, provincial Auditor General John Noseworthy reported that the methods for testing water in Newfoundland and Labrador's communities were too lax.