Message from the Chief Executive Officer

The Walkerton water tragedy must never happen again. Justice O'Connor's thorough report and recommendations and the strong actions taken by the Province have reduced the risk of another tragedy. But the job is not done.

The Walkerton Clean Water Centre is a key element of the Province's ongoing commitment to safeguard drinking water. A specific role for the Centre is to train, and retrain, drinking water operators. To fulfill this important role we are committed to consistent quality, continuous improvement and the inclusion of effective hands-on training wherever practical. Another specific role is technology demonstration and research. This area is already successful with the training of highly qualified personnel from Ontario's colleges and universities, support for hands-on drinking water operator training and strong research partnerships that have produced valuable findings. The final area I'd like to highlight is our focus on small, remote or older drinking water systems, including those of the First Nations. These systems need more outside help than larger systems and there are often barriers to support. We have mobile training units that can serve many small systems but recognise that additional actions need to be taken. The Centre is dedicated to effective support of Ontario's small systems.

With our new state-of-the art facility we are open for business. We can only achieve our results through partnerships and collaboration. We value our existing partnerships and welcome new partners. Join us.