Bottled water sales up as Yellowknife boil water advisory continues

A boil water advisory issued Monday night continues in Yellowknife, and no one knows how long it, or the silty conditions in the Yellowknife River causing it, will last.

The advisory is due to turbidity — silt and other tiny particles are clouding the Yellowknife River from which the city draws its water. That reduces the effectiveness of the chlorination process used to kill bacteria, says Dr. Andre Corriveau, N.W.T.'s chief public health officer.

"I think it's because the water levels are low in the river and the ice is cleared now," he said.

"Maybe there were more boats going by and there were waves and it created some erosion on the banks of the river and added a lot more silt to the water."

Water tested daily

The boil water advisory is a preventative measure. No bacteria has been found in the water supply and no illnesses reported, he said.

The water is being tested daily and each time, a decision is made on whether to continue the advisory. 

Corriveau says it's been 11 years since spring turbidity forced a boil water advisory for Yellowknife, Ndilo and Dettah.

"The last time I think it was close to 10 days before we got enough water coming from further north to really flush things out at this end," he said. 

Bottled water sales up

​Meanwhile bottled water sales are booming. Sales have doubled at Tundra Transfer, a local business that sells purified water.

"It's been wild. We can't keep up," said Annette Althouse, who co-owns the business with Peter Austin.

"I've got another new driver starting today, and thank goodness, because we've got three water delivery drivers out there and they can't keep up." 

Their water purification system is running at double capacity.

"Everybody's trying to prepare themselves and we don't know for how long," said Austin. "That's the big question."

A new water treatment plant for Yellowknife — with filters to remove silt and other particles — is scheduled to open next month.