Boil drinking water order issued for area in western Saskatchewan

People in the area of Alsask are being told to boil their water after harmful bacteria was identified in water samples.

Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health issued a boil drinking water order Thursday for what it called the “former village of Alsask” in the Rural Municipality of Milton. Alsask is on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, about 65 kilometres west of Kindersley.

“This order is for the entire former Village of Alsask, former Alsask base area, and other individuals who access water from the former Village of Alsask,” said the order, which was sent out in an alert by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.

The SPSA said the alert was to be in effect until further notice.

The advisory didn’t identify the bacteria that had been found in the water samples or how it could harm people who consumed the water.

The order told people to boil water for at least one minute before using it.

“This includes for drinking purposes, washing of fruits and vegetables and brushing teeth,” the alert said. “DO NOT drink from any public drinking fountains supplied with water from the public water supply. Use an alternative water source known to be safe. Seek medical attention if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms.”

The alert didn’t say whether the advisory was an emergency boil drinking water order or a precautionary boil water advisory.

On its website, Health Canada details the criteria for boil drinking water advisories.

“The primary intent of a boil water advisory is to protect consumers from potential health risks related to drinking water of an unacceptable microbiological quality,” the website said.

The statement on the website said emergency boil water orders should be issued if E. coli has been detected in drinking water.

“The detection of E. coli in drinking water is a definite indication of human or animal faecal contamination and the possible presence of pathogenic microorganisms,” Health Canada said. “If the presence of E. coli is confirmed in drinking water, an emergency boil water advisory should be issued immediately …

“Emergency boil water advisories are very important in situations where epidemiological evidence indicates that the drinking water is or may be responsible for an outbreak of illness.”

Health Canada noted there are numerous situations in which precautionary boil water advisories are issued.

“These situations need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and require the incident response team to conduct an investigation and site-specific risk assessment,” the website said.