Some communities in the Northwest Territories fail to meet minimum requirements for testing their drinking water, according to a recently released government report.

The territory's first report on drinking water quality reveals that less than half of communities are conducting monthly tests of their treated water for bacteria. About half of communities are doing the required annual testing for various chemicals.

Although current territorial water testing requirements call for communities to test their treated drinking water at least 52 times a year for bacteria, some communities did as few as four tests last year. Communities that had the lowest numbers included Edzo, Fort McPherson and Gameti.

Communities are also required to test their treated water for various chemicals once a year. About 40 per cent of communities in the territory did not do that lest last year, the report found.

"It's usually the operator in the community that takes the test. They may be busy, they may forget or they may have problems shipping the samples out," said Duane Fleming, the N.W.T.'s chief environmental health officer, on Friday.

"But I'm not making excuses. There should be 52 samples as a minimum."

The N.W.T. 2006 Drinking Water Quality Report, which Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Michael McLeod tabled Thursday in the legislative assembly, also found that a number of communities also did not conduct enough tests of their raw, or untreated, drinking water for bacteria and chemicals.

The untreated water samples are compared to communities' treated water data to determine if the local treatment process is working, according to the report.

Despite the shortfall, Fleming said he is confident everyone in the Northwest Territories has safe drinking water. No charges have ever been laid for failing to meet the legally required minimums.

Fleming said environmental health officers have now taken over responsiblity for conducting annual chemical testing. Community water plant operators remain responsible for sampling for bacteria.

Communities that obtain their drinking water from other communities, or treat their water with chlorine only, do not need to take untreated water samples, according to the report.