| #Q001 | corrective_action | operational | recommended | Contingency Plans and Redundancies | drinking water | As a safeguard, it is important for contingency plans to be in place to respond to incidents as they arise, and for redundancies to be built into the system wherever feasible. | As incidents arise | high |
| #Q002 | administrative | operational | recommended | Framework Review and Revision | drinking water | Overarching legislative and policy frameworks outline who is responsible for each aspect of the drinking water system and their specific responsibilities. These frameworks should be reviewed and revised as necessary. | As necessary | high |
| #Q003 | operational | operational | recommended | Landowner Best Management Practices | drinking water | All landowners should be encouraged through community awareness programs to implement best management practices such as protecting stream banks, providing buffer strips, and subsidizing tree planting and fencing works. | | high |
| #Q004 | operational | operational | recommended | Adherence to Standard Operating Procedures | drinking water | Standard operating procedures should be followed to ensure treatment and distribution systems are operating at optimum levels. | | high |
| #Q005 | design | health | recommended | Treatment System Design and Construction | drinking water | In order to safeguard public health, it is important that treatment systems be designed and constructed based on the results of source water assessments. | | high |
| #Q006 | design | operational | recommended | Treatment System Review and Upgrade | drinking water | They should be regularly reviewed and upgraded as necessary. | As necessary | high |
| #Q007 | administrative | health | recommended | Hazard and Health Risk Identification | drinking water | In assessing these components, potential hazards and their causes should be identified along with their associated health risks so priorities for risk management can be established. | When assessing treatment components | high |
| #Q008 | design | health | recommended | Establishment of Treatment Design Criteria | drinking water | Criteria for the design and operation of the treatment system should be established to ensure public health protection objectives are met. | | high |
| #Q009 | treatment | health | recommended | Use of Certified Products | drinking water | Only certified products (such as chemicals, plumbing materials or water treatment devices) that meet recognized health-based performance standards should be used during treatment and distribution. | During treatment and distribution | high |
| #Q010 | operational | operational | mandatory | Maintenance of Distribution System Quality | drinking water | After treated drinking water leaves the treatment plant, its quality must be maintained throughout the distribution system. | After treated drinking water leaves the treatment plant | high |
| #Q011 | treatment | health | mandatory | Distribution System Disinfectant Maintenance | drinking water | Diligence is required on the part of the system operator to ensure sufficient disinfectant is present at all points throughout the distribution system in order to adequately protect public health. | At all points throughout the distribution system | high |
| #Q012 | operational | health | recommended | Cross-Connection Control Programs | drinking water | Because it has been shown that a significant number of outbreaks are caused by breakdowns in the distribution system, authorities are encouraged to put active cross-connection control programs in place. | | high |
| #Q013 | design | operational | recommended | Reservoir and Distribution System Design | drinking water | Treated water reservoirs and distribution systems should be designed, constructed, reviewed and upgraded as necessary, to take the following into account: all local or provincial bylaws, best management practices, and regulations; prevention of access by wildlife and unauthorized personnel; system capacity; emergency water storage; contact time required for disinfection; minimization or elimination of dead ends, and cross-connection controls. | | high |
| #Q014 | operational | operational | recommended | Management and Emergency Plans | drinking water | Also important are management plans dealing with potential sources of contamination within the watershed area that may affect drinking water quality and emergency plans which include clear procedures for communicating with appropriate authorities and the public and for remediating the situation. | Dealing with potential sources of contamination or emergency situations | high |
| #Q015 | administrative | operational | recommended | Program Member Knowledge and Education | drinking water | To this end, access to continuing education in this field is important. | Applies to all members of a drinking water program including officials, regulators, and operators | high |
| #Q016 | operational | operational | mandatory | Integrated System Management | drinking water | the components of the water supply system - from source protection to the treatment and distribution of drinking water to consumers - must be understood and managed as a whole. | In order to keep drinking water clean, safe and reliable | high |
| #Q017 | administrative | operational | mandatory | Stakeholder Cooperation | drinking water | It is imperative that all stakeholders - including government departments, industry, private sector companies, non-governmental organizations, and the public - work cooperatively without losing sight of the ultimate goal: the protection of public health. | | high |
| #Q018 | reporting | reporting | guidance | Public Awareness and Information Dissemination | drinking water | Drinking water programs can involve the public and increase awareness of drinking water quality issues by: Informing the public about its impact on source water quality and about available pollution mitigation measures. Informing the public about health risks and providing educational materials on issues such as water disinfection, guidelines, conservation issues, and costs of providing service. Making monitoring results or summaries available and relaying information about what the authority is doing to address the risks. Issuing regular reports about drinking water systems, including improvements and areas that need further attention. Incorporating public consultations into decision-making processes that have an effect on public health, such as the development of new guidelines and regulations. | | high |
| #Q019 | operational | health | guidance | Private Well Maintenance and Decommissioning | drinking water | Well-owners need to know how to maintain their wells and how to arrange to decommission wells that are no longer safe or needed. | For owners of private drinking water systems | high |
| #Q020 | design | operational | mandatory | Technology and Economic Balancing | drinking water | Decision-makers must balance the need or desire to use the latest technologies against economic realities. | When making treatment-related decisions | high |
| #Q021 | administrative | health | recommended | Policy Alignment with Public Health | drinking water | It is important that policies at all levels related to the quality of drinking water support public health goals. | | high |
| #Q022 | monitoring | health | mandatory | Private System Testing Responsibility | drinking water | owners of private drinking water systems (groundwater or surface water) ... are responsible for regularly testing the quality of their water. | Applies to owners of private drinking water systems | high |
| #Q023 | administrative | reporting | guidance | Public Reporting Awareness | drinking water | It is important that the public be aware that they can report concerns to the appropriate authority. | | high |
| #Q024 | corrective_action | health | mandatory | Private System Contamination Response Knowledge | drinking water | Owners need to know what to do in case of microbiological or chemical contamination of their drinking water. | Owners of private drinking water systems | high |
| #Q025 | operational | health | recommended | Home Treatment Device Maintenance | drinking water | For consumers who use treatment devices in their homes, the proper selection, operation and maintenance of off-the-shelf products is important to reducing the risk of illness. | Consumers using home treatment devices | high |
| #Q026 | design | health | recommended | Treatment Decision Public Health Priority | drinking water | Public health goals should be at the forefront of any treatment-related decision. | | high |
| #Q027 | monitoring | reporting | guidance | Laboratory Accreditation | drinking water | Use of accredited laboratories better ensures sampling test results are accurate. | | high |
| #Q028 | design | operational | guidance | Alternative Treatment Approach Equivalency | drinking water | Alternative approaches may be used if these have been demonstrated to be equivalent or better ways of achieving the same objectives. | If demonstrated to be equivalent or better ways of achieving the same objectives | high |
| #Q029 | administrative | operational | mandatory | Federal Jurisdiction Responsibility | drinking water | The federal government is responsible for drinking water under federal jurisdiction, such as on-board common carriers (e.g. ships, airplanes), in First Nations communities (shared responsibility), in military and other federal facilities, and in national parks. | Applies to federal jurisdiction only | high |
| #Q030 | operational | operational | recommended | Government and Industry Research Involvement | drinking water | Like other elements, all levels of government-in collaboration with universities, institutes, the water industry and other research networks-should be involved in this function [Research, disease surveillance, and associated science and technology development]. | | high |
| #Q031 | corrective_action | operational | guidance | Benchmarking for Source Water Protection | drinking water, agricultural water, aquatic life | these guidelines, and those developed for source waters, may be used as benchmarks to develop protection measures or corrective actions in watersheds and around wells and to measure the success of management practices. | | high |
| #Q032 | operational | operational | mandatory | Qualified Personnel Requirement | drinking water | It also requires qualified personnel to run the various aspects of the system. | | high |
| #Q033 | design | operational | mandatory | Barrier Identification and Limitation Assessment | drinking water | Under the multi-barrier approach, all potential control barriers are identified along with their limitations. | | high |
| #Q034 | design | operational | mandatory | Source Water Protection Plan Components | drinking water | The boxes surrounding the core are comprised of; watershed / aquifer delineation, inventory of land use and contaminants, vulnerability assessment and ranking as well as the watershed / aquifer management plan. | As part of source water protection management plans | high |
| #Q035 | design | operational | mandatory | Treatment Performance Standards | drinking water | Comprehensive, scientifically defensible, and achievable performance standards - based on recognized principles - are essential to ensuring the effectiveness and reliability of treatment technologies. | | high |
| #Q036 | administrative | operational | mandatory | Stakeholder Partnership and Communication | drinking water | It is essential to maintain appropriate levels of partnership and communication among stakeholders. | | high |