With all the rain we've had this summer, you wouldn't think there'd be many complaints about a shortage of water.  There has, though, been something of a recent flurry in the media about exactly that -- or at least on the topic of what's involved when people want to quench their thirst.
The underlying cause has been the Walkerton enquiry and the introduction of new regulations governing non-municipal water systems.  Whether or not the Harris government can be blamed for creating an accident that was waiting to happen, or whether the fault lay more with the local lack of care and attentiveness, the outcome has been some decided changes in what the infrastructure of rural communities from now on is going to be.

There is, of course, a fairly commonly held belief that the benefits of living in the country include access to lots of cool, clear water.  In many parts of Niagara, for instance, there are homeowners who boast about the source of their water:  an underground spring that's 70 or 80 feet below ground (and possibly coming out of Lake Erie).  It's also fair to say that our vineyards and cash crop farms are less likely to pollute our lakes, rivers, and streams than is the case where livestock husbandry is the primary type of agriculture.
Nevertheless, as with so much else that we take for granted, we're faced with periodical wakeup calls, and the Walkerton tragedy can be considered to be one of them.

How country dwellers are affected
As a starting point, it can be said that if you live in the country and depend on a well or cistern for your drinking water, there's nothing you really need to do.  Certainly you are advised, as you've always been, to have your well (and, for that matter, your cistern) checked periodically, but there's no new regulation that says you have to do this.  It's only when you come to sell your property that the need can arise -- and even then, it's the buyer rather than you who has to decide if some tests are necessary.  You don't, in fact, have to prove that you and your family can safely take a drink!
However, there isn't much doubt that mortgage lenders will now take a far more critical view of well conditions and, like as not, the source of any water that's used to fill up household cisterns.  Insurance agents, too, are probably going to take less for granted than they've done before.  It's also going to become the job of real estate people listing and selling country properties to take a more sceptical approach to things than a guess that, ahem, "all's well with the well." 
In addition, though, the primary authority for controlling water quality has shifted to the provincial Ministry of the Environment.  What has been left so far to local Health Departments is being replaced with much more stringent -- and a lot less affordable -- tests to detect and eliminate the likelihood of contamination.   Thus, new wells are going to be less easily introduced and will have to meet much higher standards than hitherto and at far greater expense.
Given all this, it seems like a worthwhile idea to get hold of a leaflet that's put out by the Ontario Groundwater Association.  It provides a good perspective on ensuring water safety and includes links to a lot of detailed and useful information.
In effect, though, your only real cause for concern is if or when, for whatever reason, you draw water from any source other than your own.  You then need to be aware that non-municipal water systems are becoming subject to monitoring and inspection standards that are similar to those that have applied to city water sources for a considerable length of time.

The cost of doing business
Despite the absence of any serious effects on rural homeowners, there's going to be a significant impact on the operators and users of  water sources that supply more than one country household at a time or are used by any business that serves employees and customers in out-of-town locations.  They are now being regulated by a four year program that began last year and will increasingly alter assumptions that have long been made by owners of private year round and seasonal drinking water systems.  Into the bargain, the regulations apply to a variety of meeting halls, schools, churches, public spaces, and other sources of water in country locations.
The fact that a well is the source of water for guests and visitors to drink doesn't matter.  The governing principle is whether the water quality can and does pass initial and regular tests by qualified (and largely licensed) inspectors.  The implications for such people as the owners of rural B&Bs, motels, hotels, restaurants, and permanent mobile home or seasonal trailer parks are too serious to be quickly dismissed or easily ignored.  They are also going to add an expense that cannot fail to increase the prices that people need to pay if they want to "get away from it all."
In oversimplified terms, the intention  is to ensure that water is safe to drink in city and country locations alike.  Rather surprisingly perhaps, officialdom has reacted quite speedily and undoubtedly vigorously to the lessons learned from the Walkerton enquiry.  For once, things have moved well beyond a report that's simply filed away in a pigeon hole.
In any case, lenders, insurance agents, and real estate brokers will be expected to exercise much more care when dealing with commercial and institutional properties in the country.
Moreover, if you think the bureaucrats aren't paying attention to this subject, take a look at one of their recent news releases.  It mentions a fine imposed on the Town of Grimsby for non-compliance with the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA).  [And if you're so inclined, you can find the relevant clauses in the webpages at http://www.canlii.org/on/laws/sta/o-40/20040802/whole.html#BK43.]

Meanwhile back in the city
It isn't, of course, uncommon for city folk to buy and drink bottled water.  The supermarkets are thriving on this relatively recent addition to their shelves.  The water filtering firms aren't suffering from a scarcity of orders, either.  There seems, in fact, to be a widespread and growing aversion to drinking water that comes straight from the tap, despite any and all assurances by municipal officials as to its absolute safety.
Perhaps the addition of fluorides has altered the taste of city water, although the dental profession, if no one else, scoffs at the possibility.  Maybe, too, people are put off by the occasional presence of algae (although this has certainly been a rare occurence this summer!) and by the temporary discoloration when the mains are being flushed.  Regardless, there are a good number of urban households, as well as offices,  in which both coffee and tea are made only if the water comes out of a  large  filtered container -- which is another example of how the business world isn't coming to any harm because of the public's hesitation about what is, as it were, available on tap.