UPDATE: Verner's Urgent Water Problem

Dangerously high manganese levels prompts widespread testing campaign.

Verner residents will be relieved to hear that the municipality is looking into the urgent water problem.

After many households posted on social media about the incoming brown water, the city advised residents to call in their complaints. The communication by the city frustrated many who vented that the city already knows about the urgency of this problem and shouldn’t expect residents to call this in every day.

However an abundance of calls, prompted the department of water and sewer to start a testing campaign last month.

After hearing from multiple Verner residents, I confirmed the logistical details with councillor Fern Pellerin. The city is currently collecting samples from 6 different households scattered across Verner. These samples will be collected twice a week until the end of August and will be tested to measure the manganese levels coming out of the faucet.

Dangerously High Manganese Levels

When explaining the problem back in April, West Nipissing’s Manager of water and Sewer, Peter Ming explained that every summer since 2019, manganese levels in Verner’s drinking water system rise to “well above 1200 micrograms per litre” (10x the safe allowable limit set by Health Canada).

In the last few weeks, many residents have shared troubling photos on social media confirming Ming’s assessment. One post by a Verner mother which generated over 100 comments and was widely shared, expressed frustration that she can no longer even bathe her child.

My kids are tired of showers so I pour a bath hoping the situation is better….. it’s gross!!!!! My 2 year old is having a meltdown cuz I won’t let her in the bath. we’re thinking of moving after 12 years in Verner. It just doesn’t get better. - Facebook comment

This revelation along with Health Canada’s revised guidelines have turned this issue from a nuisance to an emergency. As I reported on last month, Health Canada and a number of international organizations have set maximum safety limits on manganese levels in drinking water. While in the past, manganese was only considered a nuisance in drinking water, new research indicates that there are serious negative health risks associated as well. These include adverse effects on children’s cognitive functions.

In 2023, Health Canada set an upper limit on acceptable levels of manganese in water at 120 micrograms per litre. Health Canada’s latest guidances warns that exposure to manganese in drinking water can cause neurological and behavioural effects as well as deficits in memory, attention and motor skills.

Some provinces have incorporated the new Health Canada limits into their provincially mandated drinking water standards, but Ontario hasn’t yet. Last month, the Cariboo Regional District in British Columbia issued a “water quality advisory” to its residents due to high levels of manganese. In 2022, the city of Quesnel, BC also issued an advisory due to higher than acceptable levels of the mineral. No such advisories have yet been issued for Verner.

Exactly 5 years ago, in 2019, the municipality held a public meeting to address the issue and assured residents they had a plan. This plan was to connect Verner to the Sturgeon water supply. It would require an extensive investment but the CAO and councillors at the time assured residents that this would be dealt with shortly.

In 2021 a consultant for the city told the public that it would take “a couple years” to connect the Verner water to Sturgeon. Three years later, the project hasn’t even started yet.

At the May 21st council meeting, Councillor Fern Pellerin pressed Mayor Kathleen Thorne-Rochon for an update on the Verner water issue. Thorne-Rochon has attended a number of conferences over the last few months and met with various ministers regarding the Verner water project. Thorne-Rochon answered that the outlook for fixing this problem was not very promising. She said "until we can find some sort of funding it’s very difficult to move forward with the project."

This discouraged many residents who have been waiting five years without even seeing a shovel in the ground yet.

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