The Capital Regional District (CRD) is asking those living near the top of Mount Matheson in East Sooke to boil their drinking water until further notice.
On Wednesday, the CRD issued a boil water advisory in consultation with Island Health for the Wilderness Mountain Water Service Area, which provides drinking water to around 73 people.
“Water quality may have been compromised as a result of high turbidity water originating from the surface water source, Wilfred Reservoir,” the district said in a news release.
It says household tap water may be disinfected by boiling it “vigorously” for one minute.
That’s because the health risks associated with ingesting water that has not been boiled are hard to estimate, according to Island Health.
“The risk could be low if no actual contamination occurred or very high if pathogens are present,” the health authority’s website states.
“However, you can be confident that boiling your tap water for one minute is sufficient to destroy any pathogens that are present in the water.”
The CRD adds that the advisory will be in place until flushing and water samples indicate the water quality “no longer poses a risk to public health,” at which time residents will be notified via a notice from Island Health.
Advisory updates will be posted online here.
CHEK News
