‘Take a breath, boil some water’

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This article was published 28/01/2015 (3374 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A clean set of samples wasn’t enough to lift a boil-water advisory that has inconvenienced Winnipeg residents, businesses, schools and other institutions for the better part of two days.

Since Tuesday evening, Winnipeg has been subject to a precautionary boil-water advisory ordered by the province after six of 39 city water samples collected Monday tested positive for coliform bacteria.

City water engineers immediately suspected “false positive” results, based on the apparent coexistence of bacteria and chlorine in the samples as well as the fact no bacteria were found in samples collected upstream and downstream of these sites.

Their suspicions appeared to be borne out when 21 additional water samples collected Tuesday morning also yielded no bacteria — and new samples of the same six problematic locations, collected Tuesday afternoon, came back clean from the lab on Wednesday.

Nonetheless, Winnipeg’s boil-water advisory will remain in effect until at least this afternoon, when testing of another new set of samples, collected Wednesday, will be complete. The City has called a press conference at 3:30 p.m. to update residents on the latest round of testing. (The boil-water advisory was lifted at that press conference. Read more.)

Federal health guidelines prevent provincial health officials from lifting a boil-water advisory until two sets of samples, collected 24 hours apart, are clean, said Lisa Richards, medical officer of health with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

She called Winnipeg’s latest water-sample results reassuring, but insisted the boil-water advisory remain in place until the next test results are known today.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman called the latest results “an encouraging sign,” even though the city was not able to lift the advisory.

“Had we heard the opposite today, it would obviously point to serious questions you and I would have,” said Bowman, encouraging Winnipeggers to remain calm until the ban is lifted, as expected. “Take a breath, boil some water, or buy some water.”

In 2013, when a boil-water advisory was issued in St. Vital, the province lifted the order after only one set of samples proved to be clean. Richards said that call was made due to the localized nature of the 2013 advisory.

Geoff Patton, manager of engineering services for the city’s water and waste department, said a different city employee collected the water samples that tested positive for bacteria this week. The same person collected all six problematic samples — but it’s not yet clear whether sampling error, a laboratory process or some other error led to what is believed to be a “false positive” test for coliform bacteria.

Once Winnipeggers get the green light to consume tap water again, the city will refocus its efforts on investigating what went wrong with the water sampling, water and waste director Diane Sacher said.

Patton said it’s possible the answer may never be determined, but if it is, the cause of the false positive will be made public.

If the performance of the private laboratory is determined to be a cause, the city has contractual means of addressing that issue, said Michael Jack, Winnipeg’s acting chief administrative officer.

The city is not considering compensation for restaurants and other businesses inconvenienced by the advisory, said Bowman, noting it was issued to protect public health.

“This highlights the need for all organizations to have contingency plans, the same way you would for power outages,” the mayor said.

Bowman cautioned against repeating rumours about Winnipeg’s water, noting the absence of any reports of water-related illnesses in the city. “We need to be calm and responsible in the news we’re getting out,” he said.

 

— with files from Aldo Santin

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Is the act of buying bottled water a symbol Winnipeggers have lost faith in their civic government’s ability to deliver even the most basic services? Join the discussion in the comments below.

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