West Side Water Advisory in place for Prince Rupert

Another Water Advisory is in place in the City of Prince Rupert
this one a local advisory for residents of Section Two

Some residents on the west side of the city will be stocking up on bottled water for the short term or putting the pots on high boil on the stove, as the City of Prince Rupert issues a Water Quality Advisory for much of Section Two.

The Notice issued by the City mid Tuesday Afternoon notes that Northern Health recommends that children, pregnant women, the elderly and persons with weakened immune systems drink boiled water at this time 

Advice for those in the area which includes Graham, Atlin, Alpine, VanArsdol Moresby and 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th included: A Water Quality Advisory is a precautionary measure issued to residents considered most ‘at risk’. A Water Quality Advisory indicates a level of risk associated with consuming the drinking water, but the conditions do not warrant a boil water notice or do-not-use water notice. It is the lowest level notification, and is issued as a precautionary measure (particularly to those with compromised immune systems that they should take appropriate steps, such as boiling their water prior to consuming). For these sensitive users, as a precaution, all water intended for the following uses should be boiled for 1 minute, then cooled and placed in a food grade storage container before

The situaiton is a familiar one from recent years, with the City noting that Heavy rainfall, as well as the current reliance on the City’s secondary water source at Shawatlans Lake are believed to be contributing factors to increased incidences of elevated turbidity. 

The last incident of a similar scope took place in October of 2019.

The City of Prince Rupert further noted that it is working diligently with Northern Health to rectify this situation as soon as possible. We will be performing flushing of the water mains in the area over the next few days in order to refresh the system. We believe, as in the past, this water quality issue is related to low flows, oversized piping in that area, as well as recent storm surges.

You can review the full statement here.

More notes on past water issues can be reviewed from our archive page here.