Municipalities and regulators have not always seen eye to eye on the best way to ensure the safety of drinking water. To deal with this challenge, the Ontario government turned to the Canadian Water Network as a credible third-party organization that could engage municipalities, policy makers, academics and industry. CWN’s nationwide network of researchers worked with stakeholders to develop easy-to-understand guidelines – based on solid evidence – that will help municipalities identify where money is best spent to comply with Ontario’s Safe Drinking Water Act. Those new guidelines will significantly reduce of the risk of ever seeing another Walkerton-like tragedy while ensuring that public health is protected in a cost-effect, science-based manner.