Editor's note: Updated to include information from Interior Health.
A boil water advisory has been issued for the Sutherland Creek Water Works District in Christina Lake.
The water works district encompasses the area from Fisk Road to Tedesco Road, on both sides of Highway 3, and part way up Fife Road.
"The (Sutherland Creek) Water Works District has been advised by the environmental health officer for Interior Health (IH) that a weekly laboratory sample of our water tested unacceptable and therefore a boil advisory was issued," Sutherland Creek Water Works District Administrator Judy Black told the Grand Forks Gazette.
Dan Ferguson, IH's assistant director of Health Protection, said that the advisory was issued on March 7 based on results from a water sample that was submitted on March 5 (Sutherland Creek tests water weekly) and IH tests for two parameters.
“The first one is total coliform and that one, we received a result of 22 colony-forming units per 100 ml and the other parameter we test for is E. coli and the result on that was one per 100 ml,” Ferguson said. “Essentially both of those (tests) should be less than one or zero.”
Ferguson said there was a previous positive result on Feb. 13 with a sample testing with a coliform count of 19 but the E. coli count was less than one.
The test sample for Feb. 27 produced satisfactory levels (less than one for both coliform and E. coli) and the March 5 sample came back with unsatisfactory results, as mentioned.
“Whenever we find E. coli in a sample, it’s pretty much an automatic boil water notice,” Ferguson said.
“What’s happening now is the health inspector for that system is working with the (Sutherland Creek Water Works District) to see if they can identify what is the source of contamination.”
Ferguson said IH wants to ensure that the utility rectifies the problem and that the water works district maintains a free chlorine residual throughout the distribution system at a minimum of 0.2 mg per litre (parts per million).
He said that IH also wants to make sure there are three consecutive negative samples before making a decision to rescind the boil water notice.
“They’ll go through, probably, a couple of weeks here of sampling from a variety of sites to make sure we’re not getting any total coliform or E. coli reported again. Once those series of three samples come back negative, then we’ll discuss removing the advisory with (Sutherland Creek Water Works),” said Ferguson.
When asked to venture a guess as to why the water samples were showing those types of levels, Ferguson said he didn’t know for sure and speculated that it could be a bird or a rodent getting into the reservoir and dying, a cross connection or any number of things.
“Sometimes you have a source of contamination that somehow is drawn back into the water system. Sometimes it’s just a matter of the sampling location; the tap that they were taking the particular sample from for some reason was contaminated and we’re getting the water samples turning positive because of the cleanliness of the tap,” he said, adding that both samples came from the same location so subsequent samples will be taken from different locations.
“It’s really about going through a process of elimination to try to figure out what it is and they’re in that process now so it’s really speculation on what might be causing this.”
Black said the water works district would advise consumers when the advisory is lifted.
The Sutherland Creek Water Works District is not related to Regional District of Kootenay Boundary Area C and people with questions can call Trustee Mike Burrows at 250-447-9776 or Certified Operator Tom Winn at 250-364-0295.
People wishing to speak with an IH health officer can call 250-364-6200.