Mayor of Casselman, Ont. looking for solutions to town’s drinking water problems [Video]

Casselman, Ont. Mayor Genevieve Lajoie invited residents to talk about the town’s drinking water woes on Wednesday night.  After weeks of water quality advisories in the summer of 2023, the mayor is determined to fix the problem once and for all.

The community currently gets its water from the South Nation River and when river levels go down in the summer the manganese level goes up, leaving the water smelly and discoloured. Manganese occurs naturally in the rocks and soil in the area.

The water tower in Casselman, Ont. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)

Last summer, the local health unit told residents the drinking water met standards, but they still recommended residents use bottled water for preparing baby formula or food and drinks for young people. That concerns Melanie Belisle, after her family and pets were forced to use bottled water and she does not want a repeat of that.

“We …