Boil-water warning lifted for 1 million in Greater Vancouver

The Greater Vancouver Regional District has lifted the boil-water advisory for about half the population of the Lower Mainland, butthe othermillion residentsofVancouver, the North Shore and Burnaby are still being warned to avoid drinking tap water.

Friday's announcementcame just a day afterthe advisory was issued by the Greater Vancouver Regional Districtafter brown, murky water showed up in the water supply in the aftermath of thepowerful storm that hit B.C.'s south coast this week.

In lifting the warning, the GVRDadvised peopleto run their taps for several minutes to clear out the silty water before taking their first drink.

Officials said it's not clearwhen people still affected by the advisory would be able to drink unboiled tap wateragain.

They notedthe turbidity at the Seymour and Capilano reservoirs was continuing to drop, butadded that another major storm could again muddy the waters.

The City of Nanaimo and the town of Chemainus also issuedboil-water advisories. Earlier, residents of Port Alberni, which suffered heavy flood damage during the storm, were toldto boil theirdrinking water.

Tap water in all the affected areas has been brown and cloudy since the storm andcould cause gastrointestinal illness, medical health officers said.

Incommunities still under the advisory, residentswere being advised to use bottled water or to boil tap water for a full minute before drinking, brushing teeth or washing food. Water should be boiled and allowed to cool beforebeing put in another container or refrigerated.

Precautionary measure

Dr. Patricia Daly, medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority,had said earlier that theadvisoryserves asa precautionary measure. The storm affected local water reservoirs and stretched the capacity of the water treatment system.

"It's precautionary because we have no evidence of contamination or illness from the water," Daly said.

"We know that with turbidity levels this high, there is an increased risk of gastrointestinal illness. So people need to be aware of that, although it's their choice.

"If I'm asked, I'm telling the public: Don't drink the water from the tap at this time. Drink bottled water or boil your water for a full minute."

Daly said the advisory in affected areas is an order in nursing homes, hospitals and day cares,where people are at greatest risk.

"What we're telling our hospitals, our residential care facilities, our schools, our day cares is identical to what we would do in a boil-water advisory," she said. "We are telling them that they must supply their patients, their children with bottled water or boiled water. We are not giving them an option."

Many stores sold out

Residentshave beensnapping up bottled water from stores at a brisk pace. London Drugs says their supplies have been selling just as soon as water trucks arrive.

The same has been true atsupermarkets such as Stongs, in Vancouver.Manager Frank Deacon said people started showing up beforethe storeopenedFriday morning.

He saidit didn't take long to sell out all 500 cases — much more than they normally sell in a month.

"We would probably sell about 10 or 15 cases of water a day, so there was a lot of liquid going out," he said.

Deacon said their second delivery of wateron Friday didn't even make it into the store. He said customers simply jumped out of their cars and bought it by the caseload.

Gary Thiessen ofShopper's Drug Mart in Vancouver, told CBC Newson Fridaythat the store had posted a sign on its front door Thursday evening saying itwasout of bottled water.

He said customers are buying substitutes for water, including popand juice, andthe storehas beeninundated with calls asking whether bottled water is available.

"We sold out ofbottled water as of 6 p.m. yesterday [Thursday] night. Everything was just gone. There was nothing left. People were buying everything they could get their hands on.

"I had one lady on the phone who was a little upset and said we should have more stock, but I explained that it's winter time and you don't expect a run on water," he said.

Bottled water for hotel guests

Jill Killeen of theFairmont Hotel Vancouver told CBC News on Friday the hotel has been offering bottled water to guests. She said hotel staff are paying close attention to the GVRD advisory and are checking the website for updates.

"They weren't telling us not to drink the water. It was more of a precautionary measure," Killeen said.

She said the hotel has put guest letters in all rooms, letting patrons know that bottled water is available.

Its staff will continue to monitor water quality closely and the advisory is expected to remain in effect until medical staffmembers aresatisfied water quality has returned to an acceptable standard.