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Boil Water Alert Issued for Entire Vancouver Region After Fierce Storm

Posted on: Thursday, 16 November 2006, 21:00 CST

VANCOUVER (CP) - Vancouver residents were told not to drink their water Thursday - not even to brush their teeth in it - by health authorities who issued a boil-water advisory.

A fierce storm packing high winds and heavy rainfall Wednesday stirred up water supplies, turning tap water cloudy and brownish.

"Because the water is so turbid right now, the medical officers are advising that people with immune conditions certainly to avoid the water, but for everybody right now, not to drink the water, not to use it to clean your teeth, not to wash your vegetables with it," said Johnny Carline, water commissioner for the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

The high levels of turbidity may cause stomach illnesses, but so far health authorities have not found any actual contamination.

The boil water advisory is a precaution and it may last more than one day.

The storm that swept over southern British Columbia left blocked roads and thousands of people without power in its wake.

Drinking water in the Vancouver area often goes a bit off-colour when storm season arrives, but the regional district said in a news release that turbidity levels this week have reached "levels unprecedented in recent years."

Carline said a filtration project due to be completed in 2009 should solve the annual turbidity problem.

Source: Canadian Press

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