most important one being disinfection. Once the water has been adequately disin- fected it can then be deemed ‘safe to drink.’ There are different methods of water disin- fection: chemical and physical:


1) Chemical Disinfection: involves pre-fil- tering the water and then adding a chemical (i.e., chlorine) to the water, allowing for suf- ficient contact time. For a small camp, chemical disinfection can become compli- cated and time consuming. The camp will also need to consider the taste and odour that chlorine does impart to drinking water.


Safe Water Camps looking to ensure their drinking water


is safe for campers, staff and visitors might want to explore UV-based treatment solutions


By Sheila Berg C


anadian summers consist of warm weather, flip flops, trips to the cottage and camp. In many communities in Canada, when kids are asked ‘what are you doing this summer?”


one or the more popular responses is, “I’m going to camp.” For many Canadian kids and youth, attending summer camp is a time honoured tradition. At the same time, for many parents, one of the chief concerns


when sending their children to camp is the safety of the water they will be drinking. Most camps will pull their water from a surface water source, but what do we know of the treatment that the water is getting? Camp water sources require more attention than rural


groundwater sources. This is due to the fact that most camps will pull their water from a surface water source, being a lake or stream. Attention to the disinfection of surface water is vital due to the


different types of microorganisms that may be present compared to that of groundwater sources. The two main microorganisms to be concerned with are Cryptosporidium and Giardia lamblia. As camps supply water to their campers, staff and visitors,


they need to comply with the drinking water guidelines set out by the particular province they reside in. Different provinces have different drinking water regulations, however, they all have the same goal in mind: safe water being delivered to the public. If a camp’s water supply does not comply with the provincial regula- tion, as far as treatment, then they must post a sign indicating that the water is not safe to drink. The treatment of surface water contains a few steps with the


18 Canada Camps Spring 2010


2) Physical Disinfection: UV disinfection or fine filtration does not impart any taste or odour to the water and targets specifically the microorganisms that make us sick. Ultraviolet disinfection, which is a type of physical disinfection, is one of the simplest and cost effective ways of disinfecting drinking water for such applications as camps. The equipment has a small foot- print, there are no chemicals being added to the water and it only needs to be serviced once a year provided that the water going into the UV system has been pretreated adequately.


While UV disinfection is one of the most


cost effective and simplest solutions to microorganisms in surface water, the clarity of the water must be taken into account. The water entering the UV system must be free of suspended solids and therefore will need to be filtered to the appropriate micron level (5 microns). Any suspended solids left in the water will impede the ability of the UV light to treat the water effectively and efficiently. Surface water also has a tendency of having a slight colour to it due to the organics present in the water. This is called tannins. It is imperative for camps to be aware of the tan- nin level of their surface water supply before specifying a UV dis- infection system as it can block the UV light that needs to get to the water being treated. A typical UV system for a flow rate of approximately 40 to


50 USGPM that holds third party validation can range from $2,500 to $3,000. They will require a yearly to bi-yearly lamp change (depending on the model purchased) and cleaning, which can easily be done in the off season with a $100 to $150 replace- ment lamp. The space needed is a fraction compared to that of other methods of disinfection and there is no need to have chem- icals on-site. Cost effective, simple, compact and chemical free disinfection,


UV disinfection is definitely a solution camps can look at for its water treatment systems. It will allow them to feel more confident in the drinking water they supply to everyone coming onto their site.


CC


Sheila Berg is the marketing communications manager for Viqua, a London, Ont.-based provider of water-treatment solutions.


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