Thursday, November 28, 2019

Prince Rupert's use of chlorine in civic water supply latest focus for national consortium of journalists

Prince Rupert is back in the spotlight on water themes this week, as the national consortium of journalists release their latest investigative work on water in Canada, with the use of chlorine as a water treatment agent as the focus for the latest contribution to articles on the city's water.

The most recent story, posted to the Global BC News website on Wednesday, explores some of the risks associated with extended exposure to chlorine and from their survey of samples collected from 16  Prince Rupert homes, the journalists noted that levels of THM known as trihalomethane, which are cancer causing contaminants. exceeded the Health Canada guidelines.

The latest story also notes that THM levels in the region are something that Northern Health has recommended ongoing monitoring of the levels for.

The reporters once again interview Prince Rupert residents to gauge their reaction to the findings for their piece; as well, they include a statement from Veronika Stewart, the city's communication manager, who stated:

'Chlorination is the city's only current method of disinfection, which protects our population against serious waterborne diseases' adding that “Health Canada acknowledges that, ‘The health risks from disinfection byproducts, including trihalomethanes, are much less than the risks from consuming water that has not been disinfected,’

Ms. Stewart also notes that Northern Health and the City do work to limit the amount of dis-infection  byproducts that are used and once again recounts the city's plans for a new water treatment facility in the future.

The review also makes note of a number of violations recorded for 'inadequate treatment', as well as to review last years six week long Boil Water order, as well as the city's response to that situation.

One other violation noted that Prince Rupert was cited for not meeting drinking water treatment objectives for surface waters in B.C., which requires two treatment processes for surface water"

Another interesting observation from Prince Rupert comes from Rob Gruber, who recounts for the reporters the volume of filters that Saanich Plumbing has sold in the community to customers looking for clearer water.

Considering the ongoing stream of stories from the national media focused on Prince Rupert's water, Saanich and other plumbing outlets  in the city will most likely see another surge in interest in their filter units.

The latest report which you can read here, like the previous ones that have been released, makes for an extensively researched piece and should again be a must read for the community, in orfer to gain some further knowledge and a wider overview towards the issues of the water.

These latest notes would also once again seem to indicate that the City of Prince Rupert needs to provide for a better understanding for the public of some of the many points that have raised since the series began at the start of this month.

You can review all of that previous work from the consortium of journalists, as well as local follow ups to their research from our archive page here.


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