Have Your Say

This blog post was sent to us via newwesvalleycitizens.haveyoursay@blogger.com from the NWV Concerned Citizens group:


We want to make it absolutely clear that Concerned Citizens are not against the use of chlorine. Chlorine plays an essential role in disinfecting drinking water, ensuring it is safe from harmful bacteria and pathogens. It is a vital part of public health.

What we are raising concern about is the high level of chlorination by-products specifically Trihalomethanes (THMs) and Haloacetic Acids (HAAs) currently present in our water supply.  This is not a scare tactic, it is the reality of our situation.

In the very link shared (with Facebook users only- this has not been posted on the town's website for public viewing) by the town, it clearly states (in yellow on photo):
"𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙮-𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧."

Image from the Town of New-Wes-Valley's Facebook Page


Yet, the town's social media post this morning is providing conflicting information.  The information shared by NWV Concerned Citizens is based entirely on publicly available facts and data released by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and ServiceNL.

Please note the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, Trihalomethanes (link below) states as well:
"𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙏𝙃𝙈𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧."


Please see study below linking THMs to bladder cancer.

Villanueva, C. M., Cantor, K. P., Grimalt, J. O., Malats, N., Silverman, D., Tardon, A., ... & Kogevinas, M. (2007).
Title: Bladder cancer and exposure to water disinfection by-products through ingestion, bathing, showering, and swimming in pools.
Journal: American Journal of Epidemiology, 165(2), 148–156.

And what about HAAs?  Those levels in 2024 were reported by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador higher than that of THM's and in the document the town shared (see picture above in blue) it states:
"𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙃𝘼𝘼𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧. 𝙄𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨"

We believe it's important to acknowledge both the usefulness of chlorine and the risks of its by-products when present at elevated levels. 

We remain committed to advocating for safe, transparent solutions that prioritize the long-term health of the residents of our community.  

Concerned Citizens hope to see you at our Public Meeting on June 5th - see our calendar at the bottom of this webpage for further information, and save it to your own calendar.

This blog is written for and by residents of the municipality of New-Wes-Valley to provide open conversation about our town's municipal affairs. You can send your blog post write-ups to newwesvalleycitizens.haveyoursay@blogger.com (no attachments) to be published, or you can send an email to newwesvalleycitizens@gmail.com

Location: New-Wes-Valley, NL, Canada

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Keep it friendly! Have your say without the use of name-calling and negativity. Words matter- we are all real people trying to make New-Wes-Valley a better place. ♥

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