Saint John boil water order lifted

The boil water order that affected about 35,000 people in Saint John was lifted late Monday afternoon.

New Brunswick's Medical Officer of Health rescinded the boil water order after water and water system tests confirmed that the water from the Saint John municipal system is safe to consume, Saint John Water officials said in a release.

Saint John Water staff reviewed test results with the province's Department of Health. The order could only be lifted after two clean tests at least 24 hours apart.

The order had been in effect since Friday morning for homes and businesses east of the Reversing Falls Bridge after some untreated water got into the system.

Saint John Water officials passed along tips to homeowners before using municipal water again.

• If people have been home over the past few days and have run the water in the house for washing and other things, they don't need to do anything else, because by using the water, that effectively flushed out old water and brought fresher water into their plumbing. 
•  If people have been away from their homes during this period, it is recommended that they take a few minutes to flush out the water in their plumbing. This can be done by simply turning on each of the taps in their homes for a few minutes. This will remove the water that has been sitting in the pipes, and draw cleaner, fresher water into the house.

The Magnolia Cafe and adjacent Bourbon Quarter restaurant, which has only been open for about a month, spent the weekend bringing in jugs of bottled water to wash food and dishes and to serve drinks, said co-owner Marilyn Verner.

"It's expected," she said. "We grew up in Saint John, so we know there's been problems off and on with the water there. So it's just another expense we didn't need, but we dealt with it, we're fine with it.

"We just bought the water as needed. I mean, I think it added another $300 to other costs of running the restaurant we weren't expecting."

Randy Peterson, co-owner of the coffee chain Java Moose, said he always keeps an inventory of bottled water at his warehouse and factory locations.

"Obviously, there was a bit of a disruption in the beginning, but our staff are prepared and management was prepared to swing to action immediately — and that's what we did and that's what we're prepared to do," he said.

"I think people are used to Java Moose being able to respond quickly and so, you know what? Sales were up."

Untreated water

The problem began Friday when workers at the Latimer Lake water treatment facility left a valve open for about 15 minutes, allowing water that was untreated with chlorine to get into the system.

Reduced chlorine levels reduce effectiveness of the disinfection process and the safety of the drinking water cannot be guaranteed.

The water may have contained bacteria, which can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms. Infants, young children, the elderly and people with severely compromised immune systems are at increased risk.

The boil order did not affect parts of Millidgeville, including the areas north of:

• Spar Cove Road and Belleview Avenue.
• Millidge Avenue and Ropewalk Road.
• Somerset Street.

West Saint John was not affected because it uses a different water system.