Owner of Belleville apartment complex fined for lack of water testing and operator

The registered owner of both the site and the on-site drinking water system, known as the Bay Ridge Apartments Well Supply in Belleville, Ontario, has been fined $10,000 for failing to meet regulatory requirements intended to protect residents’ health.

Owner Kendra Hodgson has been convicted of two violations under Ontario’s Safe Drinking Water Act related to the operation of the non-municipal, year-round residential system that draws water from a groundwater well. The convictions stem from a period between July 21, 2021, and October 26, 2022,

The water is treated with filtration and ultraviolet radiation before distribution to 19 residents. But to ensure safety, provincial regulations require that such systems be operated by certified professionals and undergo routine water quality testing. An inspection by an Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) water compliance officer in September of 2022 revealed missing water sample results, according to a court bulletin.

The inspection confirmed that microbiological sampling and testing had not been performed since July 2021, and that the Bay Ridge drinking water system had not been operated by a certified operator throughout a 15-month period. Regulations mandate that samples from the distribution system be collected every two weeks and tested for E. coli and total coliforms — testing that had lapsed entirely.

A certified operator was eventually retained in October 2022 to assume responsibility for the system’s operation, maintenance, and sampling, according to provincial officials. 

Following an investigation by the MECP’s Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch, charges were laid, leading to Hodgson’s conviction on February 21, 2025.

The court imposed a fine of $10,000, along with a $2,500 victim fine surcharge.