South Huron water system has top rating

By John Miner

South Huron’s drinking water system in 2025 withstood 13 water main breaks and leaks, 25 shutdowns by the Lake Huron water supply system and a lightning strike that knocked out equipment at the Huron Park Tower.

Despite the challenges, the water system’s risk rating was pegged at 0 per cent by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, which found it was in full compliance with provincial regulations.

It is the 16th year South Huron’s system has had a rating in the highest percentile, Alyssa Keller, manager of environmental services, told council.

There were three adverse water quality reports during the year.

One was for lead in the water at a private residence on Huron Street West in Exeter. Keller said resampling found there was a private lead service in the residence.

Overall, the risk from lead in the water is very low as the former Exeter PUC removed lead services in the 1990s and Stephen’s system was mainly constructed with PVC piping, Keller said.

A second report involved a temporary water main that was broken by a dozer in June 2025 during the Victoria Street East reconstruction project. A boil water advisory was issued by the Huron Perth Health Unit for the area for three days.

In the third instance, routine bacteriological testing on MacDonald Road showed coliform bacteria in the water. The water service was flushed, retested and cleared.

Keller said water main breaks are on a downward trend in the municipality due to an active water main replacement program.

On July 24, 2025, the Huron Park Tower was hit by lightning, damaging the equipment that allows operators to control the flow and level in the tower.

A split-second decision was made to open a valve connecting the tower to the one in Exeter built on the same grade.

“We were then able to run both towers off the Exeter tower level control,” Keller said. “It was essentially like nothing happened which was great news as it took about a month to get parts in to repair the level control system.”

The number of Lake Huron water supply system shutdowns climbed 67 per cent from the previous year.

Keller said the shutdowns affect fire protection, storage quantity and pressures.

A particular problem is providing the lakefront and surrounding communities with water during shutdowns as there are no connection points to storage.

Fortunately, South Huron was able to obtain water from a neighbouring municipality, but this cannot always be relied on, she said. Future construction of an interconnecting water main should address the issue.

Another problem that emerged in August 2025 was drops and surges in pressure from the Lake Huron distribution system. The surges often happen far too quickly for protective valves to work, leading to over-pressurization of the South Huron system.

The incidents require an emergency response by staff to cut off the water supply from the Lake Huron system.

Keller said discussions are being held with regional water supply staff and the contract operator to try to resolve the problem.

Thanking Keller for the report, Mayor George Finch said the water and wastewater infrastructure is the municipality’s largest and most important asset.

“We always have to invest in that every day,” he said. “If we don’t, we are going to have the problems that we see in different parts of the world that don’t have fresh water. We can never take that for granted.”