Yellowknife (Apr 02/03) - "I don't want to be called Stan."

That's what Yellowknife water plant foreman Steve Thompson said last week when asked how a water crisis in Ontario three years ago has affected him and how people view his job.

Water plant foreman Steve Thompson in Yellowknife last week outside pumphouse number one. - Kathleen Lippa/NNSL photo

Before a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria got into the drinking water in Walkerton, people in that town knew water plant manager Stan Koebel wasn't well trained. Many knew he was barely doing his job.

But no one could have imagined the tragedy that would unfold when heavy rain flooded farm fields in Walkerton and E. coli bacteria got into the town's well water in May 2000.

The town's tap water became deadly, and the blame came quickly for Stan and his brother, Frank Koebel, the water plant's foreman.

The E. coli crisis eventually claimed seven lives. People in the town say there were more deaths than have been or will ever be reported.

The Koebels ran the plant so poorly people in the town didn't stand a chance when E. coil overwhelmed the system after the spring flood.

But Ontario's Ministry of the Environment (MOE) would also come under fire.

In the report of the Walkerton Inquiry, the MOE was criticized for not having strict enough guidelines in place.

Under the MOE's rules, people like the Koebels could operate unquestioned until something terrible happened.

More rules for water in the NWT

Jean Soucey, the water works supervisor in Fort Smith, says prior to the Walkerton crisis, he was required to send one water sample a month to be analyzed by the GNWT's health department.

That has changed to the now-standard once a week. Soucey says it's a "direct result" of the Walkerton Inquiry.

While the environment in the North is very different than that of rural Ontario -- frozen as opposed to the rich farm land often covered with grazing cows -- "Every water (system) has it's problems," said Soucey.

"Regardless of agriculture, every aspect has to be protected."

Besides following health department guidelines, Soucey said, Northern water managers must adhere to the federal guidelines in the Canadian Drinking Water Standards Act.

But the GNWT is working on new projects to tackle water quality issues and the proper certification of water treatment plant managers in the future, Soucey said.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) has hired engineers to come up with a manual that covers every aspect of GNWT certification process, said Soucey.

Kim Philips is a senior engineer at MACA in Yellowknife. While she confirmed the GNWT's water and sanitation division was created as a result of Walkerton, she was hesitant to comment on MACA's plans for the future at this time.

Notably, MACA released a report called Walkerton's Wake-up Call, The GNWT's Safe Water Initiative, outlining what the combined efforts of Public Works, MACA and Health and Social Services are doing to ensure a Walkerton-type crisis doesn't happen here.

Walkerton still resonates

No matter what improvements MACA tries to spearhead in the fight for clean water, in places like Inuvik, Walkerton still resonates.

"It made everybody aware," said Rick Campbell, a municipal works technician at the water treatment plant in Inuvik.

Campbell said he was following standards set by the Canadian Drinking Water Standards Act "well before Walkerton" and they haven't changed much to this day, Campbell said.

"It's just that more people became aware of what was out there, what was happening."

Campbell said there was more scrutiny of his job after Walkerton.

"But," he added, "a well-run water system is one that nobody knows about. You only hear about the bad ones."