Under the Safe Drinking Water Regulation of the Health Act and the new Drinking Water Protection Regulation of the Drinking Water Protection Act, all public water utilities are required to obtain a Permit to Operate from the local health authority. The regulations also allow health officials to place conditions on this operating permit that the utility must meet.

The Medical Health Officer for the Okanagan Similkameen Health Region (now the Interior Health Authority), in consultation with many of the larger water utilities in the southwest interior, developed eight conditions that all water utilities within the region with more than 300 connections must meet.

The operating permit conditions were developed to clearly set the standards that must be met by the utility in the operation and distribution of the public water supply. They are:

1. Provide a certified operator to operate the system
2. Operate according to your Water Quality Sampling Program
3. Provide continuous online turbidity monitoring of well water for each surface source
4. Provide continuous online monitoring of the water disinfection process
5. Operate according to your Cross-Connection Control Program
6. Review and update the Emergency Response Plan annually
7. Provide long-term plans for source, treatment and distribution system improvements
8. Report monitoring results and provide an annual summary

The intent of these conditions is to insure the utility is maintained and operated in a professional manner in the interest of protecting public health.