Residents and businesses in the uptown portion of Flin Flon are still under a boil water advisory. The advisory will continue until water samples sent out of town for further testing return no extraordinary contaminants.
City of Flin Flon chief administrative officer Glenna Daschuk said the advisory will likely be lifted either over the weekend or early next week.
“We’re hoping and anticipating it will be lifted between Saturday and Tuesday,” she said.
The boil water advisory is affecting the entire uptown area, starting at Highway 10A near Flinty’s Boardwalk and the area moving toward Main Street.
The advisory was preceded by an outage for the affected areas. According to municipal practice, any loss of pressure requires the affected areas to go through testing procedures.
“The boil water advisory is just part of that process,” Daschuk said.
Uptown will remain under the advisory until the city gets back water testing results, to ensure no contamination occurred.
“The water has to be tested,” Daschuk said.
“We have to have test results back that states that the water is clear again.”
The outage which sparked the advisory was not planned, meaning the boil water advisory is designated as an emergency. Daschuk said the outage was caused by an issue in water and sewer repairs..
“The disruption in the service was not planned because [city workers] thought they could [repair] it without disrupting the service,” she said
“It turned out that one of the parts didn't fit properly, and they needed to get a second part. That's where the interruption came from... We weren't in front of it. When it happened, it became an emergency because the minute there's an interruption and we have to respond.”
Further updates on the situation will be found at thereminder.ca when they become available.
Residents living in the area, starting approximately at the Petro Canada near the entrance to Flinty's Boardwalk, are being told to bring their water to a rolling boil for at least a minute before using it. A news release from the City stated the advisory was necessary to "ensure bacteriological safety."
The advisory applies to any water a person can ingest, including water used for soaking dentures, brushing teeth, or water used in preparing food or drink. Dishes that come in contact with the water should be cleansed in a mild bleach solution to kill any residual bacteria.
